Turning of the Tide
by The Shadows
Summary: Sequel to Shadows are Stirring - see bio for info. Fifteen years later, the children of the School of Anything Goes are coming into their own, and must find their places in the world.
1. Prologue

This is a sequel to my story entitled The Shadows are Stirring. It will make much more sense if you read that first.

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Prologue 

_I've been here longer than anywhere else in my life..._

The young woman stood slowly from her meditation in the corner of the famous Anything Goes Dojo and opened her blue eyes just enough to see who else was in the large practice hall. For a thriving school of Martial Arts, having the hall empty save for herself was an unusual occurrence.

Not to say it really was empty, though. There were reminders of each of the sensei of the school scattered about. Near the front was a kettle of hot water, tucked into the corner. This was practically the only evidence of the Grandmaster's presence in the hall - he never left anything behind when he wasn't there.

Ranma Saotome. He was nearly thirty three now, though he barely looked twenty even still. The perfect specimen of a healthy man, he was a good choice for the leader of the school - and he had fought long and hard to obtain the title in the first place. To the young woman, his aura practically reeked of dragon... which made sense, considering how he seemed to be able to call on their power in desperate times.

Most people, she supposed, would have found that strange. But in fact, that was almost the only normal thing about Ranma. When he was younger, he had gone on a long training trip with his father, where he underwent various degrees of torture more than training. He also managed to find his way into the cursed grounds of Jusenkyo, where the spring water was enchanted with powerful, long lost magic. Ranma had fallen into the Spring of Drowned Girl - meaning that whenever he was splashed with cold water, he became a she in all meanings of the term. His hair turned from black to bright red, he lost some of his height, and he gained a rather ample amount of breasts... enough to make many women around her jealous. Hot water would turn her back into a man again.

Hence the kettle in the corner.

Looking around again, she spotted a couple of kendo sticks close to the kettle. These were the markings of Ranma's wife's presence. She was the one who trained the students in the way of the sword, and did so through the kendo style. She was nearly as advanced a martial artist as Ranma was himself, however. This made sense, as Ranma had said that they were partners in everything. Akane and Ranma.

Unlike Ranma, Akane did not have a curse from Jusenkyo. She was one of the few sensei who didn't, though. But she didn't let Ranma's curse bother her, either. While most would pause when he changed in front of them, Akane could keep talking or sparring without even batting an eye. Sparring wasn't always the best word for what they did, mind you. They fought more than most married couples seemed to on the outside, but they were very happy together. The Kami couldn't pull them apart.

The young woman in the Dojo was named Phen Riche, but most people ended up saying her name as Fenrish. At one time in her life, she had studied the Shinto religion, hoping to become a priestess, but had abandoned that in light of martial arts nearly sixteen years ago now. The myths and legends still held a great deal of fascination for her, though.

For her part, Akane looked about as old as Ranma - and was actually the same age - but was just as fit. While no one could actually keep up with Ranma anymore, Akane was the closest to being able to fill that role, and the only one he ever let try. That made perfect sense to Fenrish, as Akane's aura, her ki, was charged with traces of the Phoenix. The great dragons and phoenixes were normally natural enemies, and fought almost constantly. However, when working together, nothing could stand in their way, and when two pair up together, their bonds become unbreakable.

And she knew that that was true, too. Ranma had killed both a god and a devil for Akane already, though such things were never spoken about anymore. Saffron, the Phoenix King, had almost killed her before Ranma had pierced his body with blades of ice. The god was reborn afterwards as an infant, but had been killed by Ranma. Harito was a mortal man who had summoned a devil unto himself to kill the Saotome line - though none really knew why save the one member who was missing (Ranma's father). Ranma had literally torn him apart when Akane had been threatened.

Fenrish sighed and closed her eyes again. Thinking about such events always undid all the good her meditation did for her. Thoughts of her sensei almost being killed by such incredible beings, and still coming out alive in the end, was more than most could handle, and she was quite pleased to be one of the only students of the Dojo who knew about it.

Trying to regain an edge to her relaxation, she looked to the other side of the large training hall. There were several chains wrapped around a ladder against the wall that brought a smile to her face. Evidence of her husband... Master of the Hidden Weapons side of the School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, Muu Tsu - or Mousse, as most called him - was an exceptional man. He had known Ranma for a few years long than she had, and was one of the few who were willing to challenge him to spar still. He was also one of the few who could actually survive such an encounter with Ranma putting forth half of his effort!

She had met Mousse first out of the group staying on the Tendo grounds - though now only two Tendos remained, while the heads of the household were actually Saotomes. She had tried to hijack his boat to get to Japan to try and join the Anything Goes school, and had gotten mixed up in a rescue attempt. The rescue was unneeded, however, and that fact was proven when both Ranma and Akane appeared before them. On the trip, however, Fenrish had started falling for the mysterious, quiet Mousse.

Later, she had learned the full extent of the Jusenkyo curses when Mousse had suddenly turned into a duck. She had found that his essence contained something that matched her own, and started telling him more and more about herself in an attempt to strengthen the bond that she already had sensed between them.

Their son, Minoru, was now fourteen, and an advanced student of the School.

Of the other two that she knew of who held a Jusenkyo curse, only Shampoo still lived in the Tendo residence. The buxom, purple-haired woman was apparently much easier to get along with now than she used to be, though Fenrish had never really managed to connect with her. Perhaps it had something to do with Mousse, but she couldn't be sure. Shampoo's curse was to turn into a small white cat with cold water. This would have been a much larger problem before, apparently, but she had been told that Ranma had gained control of his fear, though no one had ever told her more than that. Even her husband tended to stay away from subjects involving the Grandmaster's past.

Now, Shampoo was also a Master of the School of Anything Goes, and was the sensei in charge of magic and potions. While Fenrish hadn't thought such a thing to be called Martial Arts, when she had questioned it, she had ended up going up against the once Amazon woman in a contest, and had been soundly beaten within a couple of minutes thanks to a single puff of smoke. Although she didn't like it as much as she enjoyed the Hidden Weapons art, Fenrish had always held a grudging respect for it ever since.

_The Kami are moving again... a change in coming._

She could sense it in the air around her - one of the only things she had managed to perfect while in training as a priestess. A large change was coming, but she wasn't sure what it was. All she could do was mentally cross off what it wasn't, and be prepared for anything else.

It wasn't going to be Nabiki or Soun Tendo. Nabiki was flawless with the record books of the Dojo, and seemed perfectly happy dishing out her unique brand of sarcasm whenever someone tried to upset her, and her father was equally happy to continue to work with a hammer and nails.

It wasn't the other married couple of the household, either. Kasumi was a flawless cook who worked seamlessly with Ranma's mother to keep the housework under control and meals on the table. Kasumi's husband, Dr. Ono Tofu, had resigned from his practice and was content to work directly for the School of Anything Goes - most of his patients seemed to come from there these days anyway.

The only thing that really came to her mind was a pig... and along that thought, her memories rolled back to the other curse she knew about - Ryoga Hibiki. He had been cursed in the Jusenkyo springs as well, and turned into a little black pig. He was supposed to be another sensei in the school, but had left with Akari Unryu almost fifteen years ago, and hadn't been heard from since. Could they be returning at last?

The large double doors to the Dojo opened slowly as several students started to file in for their warm up, before any of the sensei arrived. Due to her abilities, and the fact that she was an advanced student - one of only seven and the oldest one that wasn't a Master as well - most of the other students all looked up to her.

The group of intermediates stopped upon noticing her, and she smiled to them and bowed lightly before making her way out of the Dojo to leave them in peace. Akane would be along before too long - probably with Ranma not far behind - to lead the class.

Fenrish almost ran into a young girl with bright red hair worn in a ponytail as she stepped out. The girl in question was wearing black pants and had on the white blouse from her school uniform still. "Dad asked me to come get you, Fenrish-san," she said with a smile.

"When will you start calling me just Fenrish, Renia-chan?"

"When I finally best you in battle, Fenrish-san!" she replied with a laugh. "Same answer as last time."

"I doubt it will be long now, then. You are advancing with speeds equaling your parents, you know." Renia, who was almost fifteen, was the eldest child of Ranma and Akane. "You're Art is more pure than anything I have seen, save in your parents."

"I know, Fenrish-san," Renia said with a sigh. "You always say that, remember?"

Fenrish couldn't help but laugh as she nodded. "I suppose so. Any idea what Ranma needs?"

"He didn't tell me," the younger girl said. "But I think it probably has to do with the surprise party they're planning for my birthday."

"Doesn't sound like much of a surprise to me..."

"Hey, I'm a Saotome!" Renia said proudly, standing tall. "Which means I've mastered the Umisen-ken already! I like listening in sometimes."

"So... you've been eavesdropping again, have you Renia?" The girl is question jumped about five feet at the voice behind her, and when she turned, she found herself face to face with her father. "I guess Acchan was right when she said you were too young to learn the Umisen, wasn't she? Do I have to seal the rest of the technique into scrolls so you won't use them?"

"I won't listen in on you guys again, I promise!"

Ranma, who was male at the time, sighed and nodded. He looked back over his shoulder towards the house and then back to Renia again. "I'll hold you to that, you realize?"

"Hai!"

"Alright then. Can you lead the class that's about to start?" he added as he started to turn back to the house. "Since you already know about the party, I need your mother to help."

"Lead the class?"

"Are you, or are you not an advanced student of the Anything Goes School?" Fenrish asked quietly as she walked passed the startled girl. "Since I know you are, as you are in the same class that I am in, you are more than capable of leading them through their katas for the day. They aren't supposed to be doing anything new today anyway."

She suddenly spun around and pulled her hands out of her long sleeves to catch the incoming kick. Renia flipped backwards, away from the block, and darted in to try and land another hit. Fenrish stepped to the side and pulled out a chain from her robes to end the impromptu sparring early.

To her surprise, Renia dove under the chains and kicked upwards, catching her in the stomach and sending her stumbling a few steps backwards. When she recovered from the powerful assault, Renia had already started another attack.

Realizing that she needed to get some distance, Fenrish leapt to the air and landed on the roof of the Dojo, only to find Renia following her closely. The two traded off attacks and defense along the edge before Fenrish finally pulled hard on the chain that she had kept in one hand.

Renia jerked backwards without warning, and fell off the roof to land hard on the ground below. She had just stepped on the limp chain without even noticing, she was moving so quickly, but apparently Fenrish had seen it first.

"To class, Ki-chan," Fenrish said with a smile as she landed next to the girl and helped her to her feet. She often called Renia by that nickname, though she was the only one. Everyone had accepted by now that she was going to call some people strange things on occasion. "Before they come out to ask what was going on."

"Next time you're mine, Fenrish-san," Renia said, sticking her tongue out at the older woman before darting into the Dojo.

"She needs to work on her observation and how lightly she steps," Ranma said calmly when Fenrish turned back to him to follow him inside.

"That, and not losing her temper when she fights. She got frustrated up there, Ryu-sensei," Fenrish pointed out. "Like mother, like daughter, perhaps?"

"Acchan's temper is never a problem when fighting anymore. Just outside of Martial Arts," he said with a grin. "Speaking of which, we had best get inside before she starts looking for us. I don't want to meet her mallet today... yesterday was enough to make up for the two weeks I didn't see it, thank you very much."

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A young girl crouched down at the edge of the large town, next to the sign that read "Nermia Ward." Smiling to herself, she let herself relax for a moment after the long journey she had taken thus far.

She watched as several people walked passed her position, either on the way to or from work or school. Several girls around her age passed her, but no one noticed her. She sighed as she saw them all in skirts or dresses... she had never worn anything like that at all. Always pants or shorts - nothing else would have suited her training at all.

Now, she was wearing her favourite dark green pants and a lighter green silk shirt. Her breasts were bound with cloth against her body, rather than by a bra. She had never owned one of those, either, though she knew what they were. Her bindings were more effective anyway, she suspected.

Stepping lightly out from behind the sign, she started walking down the street, not entirely sure she knew where she was going. She remembered what her mother had told her she was looking for, but she had admitted that she was working from a rather old memory, and things might have changed in the time she had been away.

Maina found herself wishing that there were fewer people on the streets, not to mention her wish that she had any idea what day it was. She was looking for someone in particular, and it would be much easier if she knew if he could be found at school or at home.

Not knowing where either was anyway, she kept walking through the town. If her mother was right, she should find a park up ahead with a large fountain in the middle. Maina smiled when she laid eyes on the spraying water. Such things were few and far between for her while she had been training - her sensei hated to get close to any water unless he was eating. Something about not enjoying turning into a large panda every time he got hit with cold water.

She had seen it happen often enough to know that it was true, but that didn't mean she understood it at all.

She stopped in front of the fountain and looked at her reflection in the water. Her brown hair was getting long again... it was almost down to her waist. At least she had managed to find a hair band to tie it off with. She had it bound in a sort of ponytail, and tied off again at the bottom to keep it together and out of her way.

If she was really desperate, she knew she could also use it like a weapon, a whip of sorts.

"Who's that?"

"Never seen her here before."

Maina frowned and looked up to find two small children watching her closely. The one closest to her seemed a bit frightened to have been noticed. She had probably whispered, and hadn't expected to be overheard. Maina's hearing was much too good for that, though - she had been surprised by her sensei and/or mother far too often not to have developed the ability.

"Think she's here for the Dojo?"

"What Dojo do you mean?" Maina asked in a quiet voice, hoping not to startle the two girls. She hadn't really interacted with many people in a long time.

The two giggled and looked to each other before looking back. The one with blue black hair stepped forward, in front of the other girl. "There's only one around here, everybody knows that!"

"Maybe she's from out of town!" the other girl suggested. That girl had brown hair, Maina noticed, and looked a bit more frightened then the first. Was she really that scary looking?

"Is it the Anything Goes Dojo?"

"That's what Ryu-sensei calls it,"the second girl said. "Doesn't he, Akiko-chan?"

"Well, I guess so, Chika-chan. But mom calls it the Tendo Dojo every now and then, doesn't she?"

"That's the one!" Maina said, interrupting the two. "That's the one I'm looking for! Can you show me the way, please?"

The two girls looked to each other and then back to her again. Akiko took another step forward. "Whada ya want there, anyway?"

"I..." Maina paused for a moment. She didn't really want to tell these two everything - who knew who they were? Besides, she couldn't tell anyone the real reason until she met with Ranma Saotome. But what could she say that they would accept?

"Well?" Akiko pressed when she didn't go on. "What for? We ain't gonna take you for no reason... we weren't gonna go back for another few hours, right Chika-chan?"

Before the two could keep talking, Maina stepped forward and smiled to them both. "I want to train there." _I need to meet Ranma. And I need to meet the woman who stole him from mon. But most of all, I need to meet their son. I've got a promise to keep for mom, after all. If Ranma has any honour left in him at all, he won't have a choice in the matter..._

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As mentioned at the top, this is the prologue itself, not a first chapter. It is simply meant to give you a timeframe, and a basic reference to what is going on before the actual story begins... though I broke that rule a little by adding the part about Maina there.

However, I wanted to put a little reference down here first - dealing with new characters. I'll mention a few here, just to save possible confusion later on.

Renia Saotome: Ranma and Akane's older daughter who turns fifteen shortly. Her birthday is April 26, which means school has started again. She is in the advanced class. Her name means "pure."

Akiko Saotome: Ranma and Akane's youger daughter who is about seven. Her birthday is closer to the end of the school year, and is September 21st. She is in a specialised class with Shampoo, learning about potions right now. Her name means "autumn child."

Minoru: Mousse and Fenrish's only child, he is fourteen. He was born on October 18th. He is in the advanced class as well. He feels outnumbered sometimes by all the girls in the house. His name means "seed."

Setsumi Tofu: Ono and Kasumi's thirteen year old daughter. She is in the advanced class. Her name means "peaceful."

Chika (Saotome): Another seven year old, her parents left her in the park one day and never returned. She hasn't told anyone her real last name, if she even knows it, but has moved into the Tendo residence, and answers to Saotome at school now. She is in the beginner class. Her name means "wisdom."

Maina Kuonji: Daughter to Ukyo and... no, that won't be so easy. It will come to light later. She is fifteen as well, and her birthday is April 10th. She was trained by both Genma Saotome and Ukyo Kuonji. Her name means "flying bird."

A touch of quick translation to end this off.

Ki-chan: A nickname for Renia from Fenrish, means pure girl.

Ryu-sensei/Ryu-san: Dragon teacher, or dragon master. Ranma is called the first on occassion by Fenrish, and the second by Chika.

I hope everyone likes the beginning of the new story! The epilogue to the Shadows are Stirring will be up on Saturday, by the way.

Until the sun sets upon a broken world...

**The Shadows**


	2. A Bird Flies Home

Chapter One: A Bird Flies Home

Mousse, Fenrish, and Shampoo all bowed as one to Ranma as they stepped out of the tearoom again. They didn't usually bow to him - only when he spoke to them as their sensei, not as a friend. It was always abundantly clear when he was which, too, as his oddly feral blue eyes took on a hard tint to them whenever he was taking control again.

As the three left - two to tell the students in the intermediate class to begin their sparring, and the other to find Setsumi and Minoru (Kasumi and Fenrish's children respectively) - Akane turned back to Ranma.

"So, what was it you don't want to tell me, Ran-chan?" she asked in a sweet voice.

Ranma groaned and sat back down. "You've gotta tell me what I'm doing wrong sometime, koi," he said softly. "I can't keep anything from you these days."

"Not unless you'd like to meet my mallet again."

Ranma motioned to the ground next to him, and Akane sat down after a moment, looking over to her husband. Obviously it was a little worse than the usual secret that she was used to. At least he was dressed in familiar clothes - he must have owed more black pants and red Chinese shirts than many stores...

"You know my Umisen-ken technique?"

"The ones that we sealed?" Akane asked. "I remember we sealed both the 1000 seas and 1000 mountains." She then stood up quickly. "Don't tell me someone actually stole the scrolls out from under us!"

"They didn't, don't worry," Ranma said quickly, stopping her just in front of the door. She was always jumping to conclusions, even still. At least she didn't hit him anymore before hearing what he had to say... most of the time, anyway. "And we didn't seal them all, did we? I can still enter the Umisen and move around without being seen, right? We sealed everything else, so I have never used them again."

"Ok," Akane said slowly. "So... this has to do with the Umisen, then... and you disappearing from view. Alright, Ran-chan, just what did you do this time?"

"Hey, why is it always my fault?" From the pointed look his wife was giving him, Ranma just sighed. "Fine, I guess I wouldn't be telling you if it wasn't. You know Fenrish's nickname for Akiko?"

Akane nodded with a bit of a grin. That woman seemed to have odd nicknames for everyone she held close to her, and they always were used to describe something about the person. "She calls her Henni-chan," she said. "Because she's always getting into things before thinking about it... sort of like her old man!"

"Hey!" Ranma objected. "I am not old!"

"But you are curious about almost anything you don't understand."

"I didn't argue that, did I?"

"So, this has to do with the Umisen and Akiko?"

Ranma grimaced inwardly and sighed again. "Not exactly. For once, it's not Akiko getting into things... but Renia." He held up a hand before Akane could interrupt him again. "She saw me vanish a couple of times, and finally asked me about it. I told her the basics - like how to disappear into the Umisen-ken - before I even thought about it. I guess she sort of, well, was paying attention, and..."

"My little girl can enter the Umisen?" Akane's voice was not nearly as chipper as it had been moments earlier.

"But she can't move around in it! She can only stand still, I caught myself before I told her anything else!"

He knew, even before the conversation had started, that it would be painful. He could take a hit from almost anything and barely notice. Akane's mallet made of purely condensed ki and fueled by her anger was not one of those things.

"Ranma no BAKA!"

Ranma-chan managed to sit up in the koi pond and spit out the water she had taken in before she saw Soun Tendo already working on repairing the door that he had just been thrown out of. Standing up and stepping out of the water, she shook her red hair out of her eyes and looked around the yard.

It was probably just as well that she was female now, given what he was going to be teaching the advanced that evening. He had asked Kasumi to delay supper by a few hours - to her great surprise, given how much Ranma always ate - and had even told his younger daughter that she could stay out a little later, so long as she and Chika stuck together. Earlier in the day, he had already set up several fire pits in the backyard, and now set about lighting each of them, taking a moment in front of each one to encourage her clothes to dry out a little faster.

"Ryu-sensei." She turned with a smile to Fenrish, who had both the children she had been sent to find in tow. "I see you have planned something different for today."

"Must you always call me that when I'm teaching, Fenrish?"

"I could call you Ryu-san, if you would prefer."

"That's... ah, never mind," Ranma-chan said, shaking her head. It was an old conversation, and she should have known better than to try again. Maybe that hit from Akane had rattled her brain a bit.

"It looks like everyone's here now, Ran-chan," Akane offered after a moment, during which time Ranma had been sitting in front of one of the fires, looking at the flames. Akane put an arm around her husband - even though the person in question was female at the time - to let her know that she wasn't still mad about her earlier mistake.

"Great," Ranma-chan said, standing up again. "I've already told Ono what we are planning, and he is setting up in the tearoom as we speak. He has all the necessary salves to calm burns and prevent scarring and long recovery time."

Akane took a quick inventory of what Ranma had going in the backyard, and noticed at once that there were six fires going, clumped together in sets of three. "So, you've finally decided to teach them that, have you?"

Ranma-chan smiled and nodded. "Fenrish has told me that she senses a change approaching, and I've long since learned not to argue with her thoughts," she explained, thinking of the time seven years ago when the woman had told him that Akane was going to be giving birth to a child in nine months. They had had no idea at the time, and when he asked her later - once they had confirmed the facts - she had simply said that she sensed it through the kami. "Given that she can't actually give more details than that, I think I oughta teach you all a couple of the more advanced things I learned. I ain't teaching ya the sealed bits, so don't go thinking that."

"This is the Chestnut Fist?" Renia asked in surprise. She had been after her father and mother to teach her that for quite some time, and they had always told her that it was too early.

Akane nodded, despite Ranma not having said anything. "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken," she said. "Incredible speed powered by the use of your own ki and highly trained muscles."

"I've taught you all speed, balance, endurance, and strength over the past years, right?" Ranma-chan pointed out. "You'll need three of those for this, and it won't be easy for any of you, no matter what you might think. It took me a week to learn it, if that means anything to you."

"A whole week?" Mousse asked in surprise. "I knew it took you a while, but I didn't think it was that long."

"One of the longest weeks of my life, too," Ranma-chan said with a grimace. "I was stuck as a girl because of the old ghoul." Even though not everyone there knew who he was talking about, no one asked, either. They rarely spoke about Ranma's past, and during training certainly wasn't a good time to break that.

"If it only took you a week, how hard can it be?" Minoru asked, looking over to him and away from the fire he had been staring at. "It'll probably take us about as long, right?" After all the pushing that the three children who were about the same age had been put through over the years, he figured it wouldn't be much different than that.

"There's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Ranma-chan asked with a bit of a smirk. Let the kids find out on their own just what that meant... "Acchan, could you work with Renia, Setsumi, and Minoru? I'll take Mousse, Fenrish, and Shampoo."

"Why doesn't mom hafta do it?" Renia asked. "I thought she was training in this class, too!"

Ranma-chan shrugged and nodded to Akane. The taller girl with blue black hair nodded simply and picked up one of the bags of chestnuts that were sitting next to the fires. In one motion, she had dumped the entire contents into the flames.

Kneeling next to the fire, she looked at it for a moment. Only Ranma noticed her muscles tense up just a little before she started - it was so subtle that no one else had a chance of spotting it. "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" In an instant, her hands and arms blurred towards the fire. Before anyone could say anything about it, she had dumped the contents of her hands into Renia's lap - every single chestnut that had been in the fire.

"Now you try," she suggested, standing up again and taking a step back.

"Sorry, Kou-sensei," Renia said with a small bow from her sitting position. She knew better than to question her parents when they insisted on teaching together, but sometimes the words just came out of her mouth before she could think about it. Her mother had once told her it was due to the infamous 'Saotome Foot-in-Mouth disease,' which her father had then proceeded to demonstrate without even realizing it.

Akane took a step back to watch the three kids as they tried. She had learned quite some time ago that if she was going to be training her own children, then she would have to be able to separate herself from her emotions during that time period.

As she watched each of them struggle with the technique - none of them managing to get more than two out before being forced to put their hands in the water bowls that had appeared next to them without warning - she thought back to the conversation she had had in the tearoom with Ranma, and found herself looking at Renia carefully.

_So, she knows the beginnings of the Umisen already, does she?_ she thought to herself. _At least the rest has been sealed. It's actually rather amazing just how many of Ran-chan's techniques he ended up sealing._ Goraikou Ryu Aoriashi, the Rising Dragon's Kick, had been the last he had sealed, after trying to use it in a fight against Mousse early on in his teaching. The residual ki had been so powerful that it had broken four of his ribs and left the Master of Hidden Weapons unable to move for almost four weeks.

He hadn't even attempted to use the two moves he had only ever used once - Shishi no Ryuujin and Kegenmi Kouryuu Raikou - before sealing them away. They were so powerful that they had torn apart a devil, and he had no wish to see them used on another human being. After writing them out carefully, he had taken the scrolls and coated them in wax, to ensure no one could get at them without a lot of effort. It wouldn't be unsealed by mistake, that was for sure - they would have to be needed for something very dangerous.

Her blood still went cold when she thought about it, and it had been more than fifteen years ago now. Roar of the Dragon God and the Temporal Holy Dragon Raid. Two moves that she had no desire to see ever again, either.

She pulled herself out of her musing at a cry from Renia. "Alright, all three of you into the house to see Ono," she said sternly. "Once he's given the okay, you can come back out to keep trying." She then looked to Minoru pointedly. "Not as easy as you thought, is it?"

"No, Kou-sensei. Gomen."

On the other side of the yard, Ranma-chan was hovering over Mousse, Fenrish, and Shampoo. She hadn't really wanted to group the three together, as putting the two women together often spelled bad things happening, but it had been the best choice she had.

"You doing it all wrong, Fenrish!"

"Don't try to correct me, Zaa-chan!"

"I told you not to call me that!"

Inwardly, Ranma-chan groaned again. Outwardly, she stood before the three with her arms crossed before her, just observing them work.

"Would you two mind holding off on your fight until after we have finished here?"

Ranma-chan looked back to the three of them in surprise. Mousse had rarely actually stepped between the two while they were fighting before. She hadn't been sure if it was because he had been hoping for Shampoo to admit her love for him or not, but the fact remained that he usually kept his distance when the two were going at it.

"I'm sorry, Muu Tsu," Fenrish said almost at once, bowing her head towards him and then towards Shampoo as well. "I will not say another word to her for now." For some reason, the Amazon girl just rubbed her the wrong way, but she couldn't explain why.

For her part, Shampoo looked back and forth between the two for a moment before letting out a little huff and standing up quickly. "Fine. Shampoo work with fire later, then." Before either could object, she had turned and walked into the house. The move had startled Ranma-chan, as she hadn't left her training like that in years.

Maybe Fenrish was right. Maybe something was about to change.

"You two stay here and keep working," Ranma-chan said when she saw the two look to each other. "I'll go after her in a minute, after she's had a chance to calm down."

"Thank you, Ranma," Mousse said softly.

"Yes, thank you, Ryu-sensei. Gomen. I do not know why I was trying to upset her like that," Fenrish offered after a moment. "I should not rise to such things during training."

"No, you probably shouldn't," Ranma-chan admitted. "But you weren't the only one. It usually takes two to fight." She did have to say usually, because she could remember the times when Akane had come after her in the past when she really hadn't done anything wrong. Often, she had done something, but there were a few occasions...

She forced her mind away from such subjects as she watched the two work. She and Akane got along so well now, it was hard to even think of the time when they had fought constantly and never let the other get close.

Fenrish and Mousse. There was a combination that she honestly hadn't expected to work, not with the way Mousse had been clamoring after Shampoo for all those years. Yes, they both practiced the Hidden Weapons art, but that hadn't really been what had brought them together. After all, a master/student relationship wasn't that common, as they usually turned out badly.

It was actually something much simpler. While Shampoo had actively gone out of her way to avoid Mousse, Fenrish had done the opposite. She hadn't really clung to him or anything... she had just been nearby in case he had wanted to talk to her at all. When she had opened up to him about a bit of legends that involved things he was interested in - from the hidden weapons themselves to, oddly enough, ducks - he had started turning to her when Shampoo had spurned him.

But that wasn't the only thing, either. When she did something that upset him, she actually apologized for it. Shampoo, on the other hand, usually said it was his fault anyway. When this happened enough times, and Fenrish stepped in a couple of times to assure him that he hadn't done anything and it really was Shampoo's fault after all, that had really made a difference.

In Ranma-chan's mind, the real turning point, when Mousse had stopped looking at Shampoo as the love of his life entirely and had begun turning to Fenrish instead, was something relatively small. Akane had told her about it, in fact - he wouldn't have noticed, other wise, he was sure of it. Fenrish had asked for Mousse's opinion on something - something relatively minor, like what he had wanted for supper one night when Kasumi had gone out - and everything had changed.

"That was quite good, Mousse," she offered suddenly. The two who were working looked up to Ranma-chan, who shrugged. "You got six of the twenty out, and haven't even been working at it for more than an hour yet."

"Thank you, Ranma."

"Ryu-san!"

Ranma-chan soun around in an instant at Shampoo's wild call. She almost never called him that - given that it was the name that Fenrish seemed to have given him - but when she did, it didn't usually mean good things.

"I'll handle things here, Ran-chan. Go!" Akane said, sliding the tearoom door open as she tossed her a kettle of hot water. Ranma-chan didn't take the time to look at the kids inside getting treated before dumping the water over his head and leaping over the house.

To most people, such a feat would have seemed unreal. To those in the advanced class, it seemed relatively simple, though it would have been easier to land on the roof and then take a second jump to land in the front. For Ranma, it was almost easier than walking.

He landed in a crouch behind the purple haired woman and looked around carefully before standing up again. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, he stood slowly and turned towards her. "What's wrong, Shampoo?"

"Shampoo sorry she left the training early," she said with a small bow to him. "Should have better control of temper... don't want to be like Akane, right?"

"You could never be like Akane," Ranma said with a grin. He knew she was teasing him, and he could dish it out just as effectively. It had taken a few months of living under the same roof, but by now he was actually comfortable around the woman who, at one point in her life, had been out to kill him _and_ marry him at the same time.

"Shampoo know that," she said with a smile. "But shouldn't have left early anyway."

Ranma nodded. "Well, at least you know that. I'll have Acchan work with you later on it, okay?" His wife and Shampoo actually got along rather well now, which was a minor miracle in and of itself.

She smiled to him, and then looked out the front gates. "You know why I call you like that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ryu-san." Ranma shook his head. "Shampoo only call you that when strange girl coming closer to home. Don't want everyone to know Ranma is here - she might be another fiancée from the past..."

Ranma couldn't help but laugh at her statement. After marrying Akane, no less than six other girls had come forward to announce that they were supposed to be the ones to marry him. After explaining the situation to each of them, he was surprised when they just turned around and left again.

He had no idea that Akane had been standing behind Ranma, literally glowing in her anger. He also had no idea that Nodoka had taken each of them aside when he had taken a moment to ask Kasumi to get some tea. His mother had set each of them perfectly straight on the matter, promising great harm to them and their families on behalf of her son. The fact that she was standing directly in front of the mantle that held the Saotome honour blade might have played a factor in it, too...

"So, a girl's coming that you don't know, then?"

"She not a student yet," Shampoo said with a nod. "Met all the students so far. Nabiki insists on it, and Shampoo tell her all about each of them. She wants to make sure we don't take students who would refuse to pay."

"Alright, so you don't know her. Where is she, then?"

Shampoo pointed to the right, and Ranma stuck his head out the gates and looked down the street in that direction. He saw a tall girl dressed in dark green walking straight towards them. The only way he could really tell that it was a girl was by her hair, though. She wore it very long, and had a pink ribbon tying it back. She also had a small flower tucked behind her ear - something no guy would probably ever do.

An image of Konatsu and Ukyo flashed through his mind suddenly, but he shook them off. He'd go with his instincts on this one, too. Hopefully, he'd be right for once.

On either side of the girl, though, were two that he recognized. His younger daughter Akiko was almost skipping alongside her, though she was doing it along the chain link fence beside them. She was the daughter that reminded him the most of Akane, with her short blue black hair and deep green eyes. She also had his wife's spirit, without a doubt. He dreaded the day someone upset her and she pulled out that mallet that his wife's family had been nearly famous for...

On the other side of the new girl was Chika. Ranma considered the young girl to be one of his daughters as well, even though she had only been a part of their lives for a couple of years. She had been left in a nearby park when her parents had taken off, and Akiko had run into her and brought her home in hopes of being able to help her. She had never told them who her parents were, and it had taken them quite a while to get her to even talk to any of them save Akiko herself.

Now, getting her to stop talking when she thought she knew something was the challenge.

Ranma pulled back and looked to Shampoo. "So, you've no idea who she is, then?"

"None."

"Well, I can tell you this much - she isn't a fiancée of mine!" he said with a grin. "She's not nearly old enough. I'm guessing she's about as old as Renia or Minoru."

"Shampoo think so too, but not want call your real name anyway. She could be a new student, ne?"

Ranma shook his head and looked back to the house. "Do you all get some weird, twisted pleasure out of hearing all the students calling me Ryu-sensei all the time?"

Shampoo shook her head, wearing a completely innocent expression suddenly - the first clue that she was lying through her teeth. "No, Ranma," she promised him. She then cracked a smile. "Enjoy seeing your reaction to them calling you that, not enjoy hearing them say it."

Ranma shook his head and stepped out into the street to greet his girls, who ran to him as soon as they saw him and threw themselves into his arms. "Hey you two. You're back awfully early. Okkasan won't have supper ready for another hour or so." Although okkasan was technically the term for mother, everyone in the house had taken to calling Kasumi that, while the kids' real mothers were often called otherwise.

"We were bringing Maina back, Ryu-san," Akiko said as she pulled away and leapt over him and onto the Tendo grounds. "She wanted ta train with you."

"She did, did she?" he asked, looking away from Chika, who had dove between his legs to get passed him and join Akiko, and towards the other girl, who still hadn't said a thing. "So, you must be Maina, then?"

"Are you Saotome Ranma?"

"You've heard of me, I take it?" Ranma asked. It wasn't all that uncommon for people from out of town coming up to him and addressing him by name. The School of Anything Goes was rather well known - Akane had been accosted a few times as well.

"My own okkasan sent me here. I have a promise to keep to her, Ranma-san. Just like you have a promise to keep to her," she explained easily, the words having been rehearsed hundreds of times since she had parted ways with her mother and sensei to go on ahead. "I'm here to marry your son. My name is Kounji Maina."

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So, let's start with some basic translations, shall we?

Henni-chan: Curious girl. Fenrish's nickname for Akiko, Ranma and Akane's younger daughter. Given because Akiko always seems to get into everything.

Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken: Chestnuts in a Fire. A technique of Ranma's, taught to him by Cologne years ago now.

Kou-sensei: Phoenix teacher. Fenrish's nickname for Akane, given her affinity to use flames and oddly phoenix like abilities through her ki, much like Ranma can use dragon like abilities.

Zaa-chan: Running water girl. Fenrish's nickname for Shampoo, but is more of an insult that anything. Shampoo takes it - correctly - to mean Fenrish thinks she is more apt to running away than standing her ground.

Gomen: Sorry

Now, for a touch of background information on techniques mentioned in this chapter. I do not intend to do this all the time, but in this case, well... I wanted to. Hope no one minds.

Goraikou Ryu Aoriashi: Rising Dragon Kick. A move of Ranma's that is done by charging the enemy, then dropping back to kick upwards. Even if the initial kick misses, the residual ki that is left from the sheer power of the kick is enough to knock over a large building - certainly enough to seriously harm most enemies.

Shishi no Ryuujin: Roar of the Dragon God. Ranma's battle ki charged to such a degree that it forces the enemy to turn towards him. It was used to force Harito's Devil form to leave Akane alone and focus on him. The ki is so powerful that anyone not intended for the battle will be unable to get anywhere close to the fighting.

Kagenmi Kouryuu Raikou: Temporal Holy Dragon Raid. The move Ranma created out of anger and fear for Akane's life. He first calls on the dragon gods to help him, and then, moving so fast that it can not be seen until he finishes, Ranma comes at the enemy from all sides - almost literally at once - striking one plane again and again from all angles until tearing through. This is the move that tore Harito's Devil form in half.

Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken: Chestnuts Roasting in a Fire. The technique was originally meant as just a method of improving speed, but Ranma adapted it for use in fights, too. The punches are so fast that hundreds appear as only one or two. It is of interest to note, incidentally, that Akane learned this simply by observing Ranma and taking part in his other training. She pulled this off – for the first time – in the Village of No Return against those who tried to fight Ranma dishonourably.

Now, for review replies, as always...

xero-ghost: I'm glad you like the start to the story thus far. Hopefully I have covered your concern now, though - I see where you were coming from, but it was never entirely my intention. I actually agree with you, don't worry. Renia, Minoru, and Setsumi are now fifteen through thirteen respectively, incidentally. I don't intend for Akiko and Chika by any means to learn most of the abilities for quite some time.

Wonderbee31: I'm glad you like it so much thus far. Hopefully, you will continue to, too.

Kyrtythren: Sorry about the whole sensai/sensei thing. I assure you, it was completely a mistake - a mistake that I fixed in this chapter, and will be fixing in that chapter shortly. Thanks for noticing and pointing it out.

Doctor Emmit Brown: I'm glad you're willing to have a look at this one, despite your usual preferences. I will note now, though, that it isn't only a story about the children, but there will be quite a bit of Ranma/Akane still, as well as a few others. Also, I intend to go into some detail later about just how Fenrish and Mousse ended up together, but I mentioned some in this chapter.  
I'm curious who you suspect the husband to be, but I guess I'll have to wait to find out your guess until I actually reveal it. Mind you, Maina doesn't know, either... As to Ranma's son - he doesn't have one. This would be entirely a mix up from Ukyo, but Maina doesn't realise this yet. In fact, the next chapter is called The Flaw in Ukyo's Plan. 

SilverBullet23: I will keep writing, don't worry. I won't guarentee quick updates all the time, but there won't be massive gaps, either, so you don't have to worry there.

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Until the sun sets upon a broken world...  
**The Shadows**


	3. The Flaw in Ukyo's Plan

Chapter Two: The Flaw in Ukyo's Plan

In his younger days, he supposed he would have faltered. Perhaps he would have laughed in the young girl's face - he actually almost felt like doing that now, despite himself. He probably also would have told her right then and there that he didn't have a son, just two daughters.

"Why don't you come inside?" Ranma suggested, with a quick look to Shampoo. Shampoo nodded and was in the house again before anything else was said - she had to warn the appropriate people not to speak out of turn. "I knew your mother quite well for a time."

"You were supposed to marry her, so I would assume so," Maina said firmly, refusing to meet his eyes with her own blue ones. "But you ran out on her and went after someone else... someone with no talent, looks, or anything else in her favour."

It was harder this time for him to turn on the Soul of Ice than often times, but he wasn't the Grandmaster of the School for nothing. "If I am to invite you into my home, I would ask you not to insult my wife, Kounji Maina." He turned slowly to the door when he heard movement, and saw Kasumi standing there.

"Oh, you must be the girl Shampoo told us about," she said with a smile and a little bow to her. "Let me show you to the furo... you must have travelled a good distance, and it really is amazing what a good soak can do to relieve tension."

Maina was about to argue, but upon seeing the look on the woman's face, she suddenly found herself not wanting to upset her. She just looked so open and kind that to throw back her offer would be insulting... almost dishonourable. Rather than trust her voice, though, she simply nodded.

"I have one other request," Ranma said as he ushered her inside. "Please do not speak of why you have come here until tomorrow morning. We will ensure you have a place to rest and food to eat before talking about such things."

"Since I have accepted an offer into your home, I can agree to that. But tomorrow..."

"Tomorrow, we'll talk. For now, let Kasumi take care of you," Ranma suggested. Before Maina could say anything in response, he suddenly vanished from view. She managed to turn in time to see another woman vanish from the bottom of the stairs, but couldn't figure out what had just happened.

"Ranma just took Akane to talk with her," Kasumi said softly, presumably reading the shocked expression on her face. "Let me show you the way, and then I'll call when supper's ready. After supper, I'll get you settled into one of our guest rooms. From what Shampoo said, I take it you'll be staying for a while?"

"That would be the plan, according to my honour," Maina said firmly. She tried to resist Kasumi prying the bag off her back, but again found she simply couldn't refuse the kind woman anything. She took the towels and soap that were offered to her and smiled, again not really trusting her voice. No one had really been so kind to her before...

"I will set up one of the more permanent guest rooms, then. Something upstairs, maybe..."

Maina stopped at the entrance to the furo and turned back to Kasumi slowly. She wasn't sure what to make of what she had seen of the Saotome home so far, but she did know her manners - even if she had had little reason to use them in the past. "Thank you."

She slid the door closed behind her slowly as she took in the large dressing area. There were two baskets for dirty clothes - one of which was currently empty, while the other was almost filled with what looked like training gis and red silk shirts - and beyond that, there were three sinks and several metal buckets sitting under them.

Most people would have found the three kettles she spotted unusual, but she knew all about Ranma Saotome already. The purple haired woman was a bit of a mystery, but the woman he had vanished with was not. The blue-black short hair was a dead giveaway - her least favourite person in the world, Akane Tendo. She, like her mother, refused to call her by her married name.

With a deep breath, she set down the essentials she had been given and looked around quickly to make sure she was alone. It had been a very long time since she had used a private bath like this one... or even a public one. For the past three years, the best she had had was washing off in a cold stream, which was not the most pleasant of experiences by any means.

Reaching around behind herself, she took hold of the pink ribbon at the bottom of her hair and pulled it off, letting her brown hair flow mostly free. Looking in the mirror by the sinks, she noticed the flower she had stuck behind her ear. She wasn't entirely sure why she had done it, but it looked nice. Before she took the other ribbon out of her hair, she pulled the flower out and carefully set it on the edge of the sink.

She had no great attachment to her clothes - unlike her ribbons that her mom had actually made for her - and peeled off her green shirt easily, tossing it into the empty hamper. It took a few minutes for her to undo the bindings around her chest, which made sense, given how many times she had wrapped the white cloth around herself.

When she was finally free, she turned back to the mirror to look at herself. Almost against her own will, she held a hand in front of her breasts after a moment. The one thing her sensei had always ragged on her about was her femininity. Her breasts were too big to make a proper martial artist, which was why she had been forced by her mother to bind them for as long as she could remember. At least in the privacy of the furo she could relax and let herself be who she really was.

Maina sighed to herself and turned away from the mirror. Standing in front of it looking at herself wasn't going to solve anything. She was on her own now, and as soon as she had resolved the issue of her honour, she could put that part of her life behind her. Oh, she knew she'd never give up the Art by any means, but she could at least attempt to claim her female aspects again.

Stripping out of her dark green slacks, she tossed them with her bindings into the hamper as well. Her panties were next, and she sighed as she tossed them. At least her timing was pretty good for once - her period had ended yesterday, so she wouldn't have to deal with it on top of everything else.

_Well, you've made it this far, anyway._ She slid the fogged glass door open and stepped into the smaller bathing room. If she had looked around in the main room, she would probably have noticed two other doors leading to separate baths as well - three for the large household. _Now, just one more task - convincing Ranma to enforce the engagement._

Her breath came out slowly as she lowered herself into the warm water. This was paradise if there ever was one - just relaxing and soaking in a nice warm, private bath. She didn't have to worry about anything until tomorrow, not even where she was going to sleep, and for how long. No sensei to wake her in the middle of the night for a sudden sparring match... no mother telling her to get up early to cook... she'd probably even be able to eat all her own food for once.

"Mind some company?"

She almost shrieked at the suddenly intrusion of her thoughts and privacy, but managed to catch herself in time. She did, however, back up to the far side of the tub and grab at the washcloth found there to try and cover herself up as best as possible before even looking to see who was there.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle ya or nuthin. I just needed a good soak after training, and thought I'd keep you company," the girl said. She had shoulder length red hair and a soft smile. "I'm Renia. I guess you must be Maina, right?" Maina didn't even get a chance to reply before the other girl had lowered herself into the water across from her. "Now this is nice... just sitting here, ignoring everything else in the world."

"Uh... Renia?" She was trying to figure out how to ask the other girl to leave now that she had actually gotten into the water with her, but the words weren't coming to her. She knew it wasn't uncommon for sisters to share a bath, but this was a bit much!

Renia looked over to her and saw her holding the washcloth. "Oh, want me to wash your back? I understand. It's a pain to reach sometimes." Again, Maina didn't even have a chance to reply before the cloth had been snatched and she had been spun around. "How's this feel?"

Although a large part of her mind wanted to tell the girl to stop, the soothing sensations of having her back washed down made her thoughts die on her lips. "Thanks... Renia," she said after a moment. "Want me to wash yours, too?"

"Nah," she said. "This is just a quick soak for me. I've still gotta do some training this evening after supper and all, so I'll wash up fully then. Guess I really just wanted ta say hi to ya."

"So, you practice too, then?" Maina asked. She could have kicked herself for the question - surely everyone who lived in the Tendo residence practiced the Art.

"Yeah, most of my life," Renia explained. "Hard not to with folks like mine. But it's great, they're really good teachers. Pushing hard enough to make us all learn, but not hard enough for us to hate it. Hey, you wanna spar after supper?"

"Uh, sure, I guess," Maina said softly. Renia seemed rather nice, but sparing with her probably wouldn't end up too well. No one had managed to beat her for the last several years of her travelling, and she didn't really want to show up this girl, when it would undoubtedly make things difficult living in the same house.

"Great. You know, it sounds like you'll be staying here for a while from what Zaa-san said. You wanna be friends?"

"Friends?"

"Yeah, you know, buddies. Hang out together, talk to each other when stuff just sucks, that sort of thing. Whada ya say?"

"I'd like that, Renia," Maina said softly. She then smiled and turned to her new friend. "Do you usually join people in the bath to make friends, or am I an exception?"

After the two stopped laughing, Renia sighed and drew her knees up to her chest. "Nah, not usually. Actually, I'm not sure why I even came in here... I don't usually like sharing a bath with anyone but my little sis," she explained. At Maina's glance, she shrugged. "Akiko, I think you met her earlier. She usually comes in when I'm almost done, and we just sit and talk. It's the only time we can and know our folks ain't gonna listen in. It's how I found out about the baka that was bugging her at school. Three years older, and buggin' her for a date. Can you believe it, a ten year old chasin a seven year old?"

"What did you do about it?"

"Beat the guy to a pulp and twisted him into something that looked an awful lot like a pretzel," she said with a shrug. "Ono sorted him out later, but he learned his lesson."

"Speaking of pretzels, when do you think Kasumi will have supper ready?"

"Hungry are you?" Renia asked with a smile. "It shouldn't be long now. Actually, if we get out now, by the time we get back downstairs, it should be ready."

Maina then groaned to herself, but Renia seemed to hear it and looked over to her. "I forgot to bring in clean clothes... guess I've gotta change into my dirty ones again."

"Not likely," Renia said with a grin. "I've never brought clean clothes with me, but there's always a set waiting for me when I'm done. I think Kasumi brings it in once I'm in the water, but I've never caught her. Don't let her looks fool ya, she ain't half bad with the Art herself. But she probably brought you a set, too, it's the type of thing she'd do for ya."

"But it..."

"She wouldn't snoop through your stuff," Renia said quickly, as though sensing her thoughts. "Just get a change of clothes, that's all. Don't worry about it."

Maina stepped out first and grabbed for her towel - both to start drying herself off and to cover herself up a bit. "I guess you're right," she called back to Renia when she spotted the two piles of clothes waiting for them. She also saw in her pile of green that Kasumi must have left her a bra, in addition to her bindings, as though giving her an option. She'd have to remember to thank her later.

"Hey, Maina, can I ask ya something?"

"Sure, I guess. So long as it doesn't have anything to do with why I'm here - I promised Ranma that I wouldn't talk about it until tomorrow."

"Yeah, they told me that, don't worry," Renia said, clapping her on the shoulder as she passed and picked up her own towel. As she started drying her hair roughly, she went on. "No, I just wanted ta ask about the scars on yer back. What happened, anyway?"

All the colour drained from Maina's face instantly, and she closed her eyes. A terrible screeching sound echoed in her memory of the day so many years ago... and the pain, so much pain. "Training," she said softly. "It went wrong, that's all."

"Oh. Sorry I asked, then."

Maina shrugged, even though she really was a bit upset at it being brought up. "Don't worry about it. It was bound to come up sooner or later."

Once she was dry, the first thing she did was try on the bra to see if it fit. Unfortunately, it was a little small and hurt to wear, so she tossed it to the ground and picked up her bindings. "I'll have to tell Kasumi-san that I need a bigger one than that," she muttered to herself.

"Your hair's nice, by the way." She turned back to Renia quickly, startled by the exclamation. The other girl was already completely dressed, and was just doing her hair back up into her ponytail. "The length, it's good."

"Thanks," she managed with a small smile.

At supper, neither Ranma nor Akane were anywhere to be found. The rest of the household was gathered around a large table that was piled high with food. As she entered the tearoom, Maina noticed that people seemed to be sitting in groups.

The two young girls who had brought her here in the first place, Akiko and Chika, were sitting with a girl who looked about six years their senior, but they were talking animatedly anyway. The only boy was sitting almost entirely on his own, and wasn't saying a word to any of them. Maina sat down next to him carefully, assuming that he was the one she was looking for. Renia sat next to her, and suggested she not try talking to Minoru - the boy she had picked out - as he would probably just insult her anyway, or say something that made no sense.

For his part, Minoru just stuck his tongue out at Renia, who pulled out a mallet from behind her and struck him in the back of the head, smashing his face into the table. To Maina's surprise, no one reacted to that at all.

Aside from the people her own age, there were also a few adults. Kasumi was sitting with an older man with short black hair and a kind expression. She assumed that he must be her husband, the way they were quietly talking to each other while eating, as though no one else existed at all.

Also present was an older woman with red hair, dressed in almost a formal kimono. Maina recognized her from pictures that her mother had shown her - she was the Saotome matriarch, Ranma's mother Nodoka. Oddly, she didn't seem to have the katana her mother had warned her about anywhere nearby.

Next to her was a woman who looked about as old as Kasumi. She had short brown hair and was wearing a small t-shirt and shorts that looked a little short on her. She was talking almost too quickly to follow with Nodoka. Judging by how much she looked like Kasumi and Akane, Maina figured her to be the middle sister Nabiki. Sitting next to the middle Tendo daughter was the elder Tendo himself - Soun, unless she missed her guess for names.

The purple haired woman was there, too. Renia had called her Zaa-san. She seemed to be keeping mostly to herself, though every now and then she glared at the pink haired woman next to her. For her part, the pink haired woman was completely ignoring her, and speaking with a man in glasses with long black hair. Both were wearing white robes that seemed a little big on them.

"Well, let's skip formal introductions for now, shall we?" Kasumi suggested. "That can wait for tomorrow. But for now, I'd like everyone to meet Maina. She'll be staying with us for a while, okay?"

Everyone at the table had stopped eating when Kasumi started speaking, as though they, too, were afraid of making her upset for any reason. "Hi," she said softly, not really used to being the centre of attention for so many people.

They went around the table quickly to give her each of the names. She already knew Kasumi, Akiko, Chika, and Renia, and Renia had told her Minoru's name. It ended up that Zaa-chan's real name was Shampoo, and she was sitting next to Fenrish and Mousse. She was right with her guess about Nodoka, Nabiki, and Soun, and the man with Kasumi was Ono - the doctor, if her memory served correctly. The only people not present, it seemed, were Ranma and Akane - not that she missed Akane at all, even though she had never met her. Anyone who had the gall to steal a fiancé out from under someone for no reason but a petty argument didn't really deserve being met.

"My son and his wife are in the Dojo doing a bit of training," Nodoka offered once everyone started eating again. "But you've already met Ranma, and he is married to..."

"Akane, yes, I know," Maina interrupted her coldly. "I know her name, don't worry."

Everyone froze at the hardness to her voice, but Nodoka kept her gaze steady and strong. "You must have been travelling for many days to get here, child, so you are probably quite tired. You should have an early night tonight, understand?" The way she asked made it obvious that this was not open to discussion. Not that she would ever admit it, but she was a little tired, and the idea of an actual room to sleep in was almost more than she could comprehend.

"What do you think they're doing in there?" Chika asked suddenly. "They always seem to disappear at least once everyday, just to train together, right? Why's that?"

Maina really didn't want to hear the answer to that question, but Renia's reply caught her off guard. "Sometimes, they work on increasing their ki, but usually, they are perfecting and increasing the speed of their kata, The Setsuai no Kata."

"It's actually quite impressive, if you want to see the kata sometime, Maina," Kasumi offered quietly. "I'm sure they'd even be willing to slow it down enough to be seen by any of us here. Their ki training they tend to keep to themselves, though - not that any of us could open the door anyway thanks to the amount they produce."

"I don't want to see it, thanks," Maina said, equally softly. She didn't want to mouth off to Kasumi, but she wanted to make her position clear.

"Please remember my son's request of you, Kounji Maina," Nodoka said firmly.

After a rather tense silence, Renia stood up suddenly. "Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm gonna check to see if they're done in there, and then I'm gonna find someone to spar. Up for the challenge, Maina?" She grabbed the girl's hand before she could object and pulled her off and out the exit to the tearoom.

When they pulled open the door to the Dojo, however, it appeared that the assumption had been wrong - neither Ranma nor Akane were there. Once inside, Renia bent over and picked up a couple of kendo sticks, tossing one of them to Maina.

Maina looked down to it and frowned. "Weapons aren't really my thing," she said, tossing it back.

"Mine neither," Renia replied, returning it again. "It'll be a good warmup. After we're done looking like bakas with bokkens, we'll get to the real sparring, alright?"

"These aren't bokkens, though..."

"Maina! It was just an expression!"

She shrugged and checked the weight of the weapon. Even if she didn't like using them, that didn't mean she wasn't trained in their use at all. Her sensei had trained her to be the best, after all, which meant nothing could be left out.

Satisfied, she lifted it to a ready position just as Renia shot in with the blade held high. The two met with a resounding crack, and the fight had started. Maina crouched under the next swing, and flipped backwards without touching the floor to regain her distance and balance before starting her own attack. Coming in quickly, she struck hard to the head, intending on finishing it as soon as possible.

Renia spun out of the way of the attack and swung her own sword around to hit Maina's exposed back with a crack. For her part, Maina didn't cry out at the pain at all, but twirled around to face her again.

After an impressive feint to the head again, Renia was the one sporting the new injury, having been caught in her left elbow hard. She didn't say anything either, which impressed Maina to no end. The bamboo was really quite hard, and few people could take a hit like that without any equipment and not complain.

The sticks themselves clashed together the next three times they came together. Suddenly, Renia and Maina both found themselves right in each other's face, their weapons above their heads, crossed together.

"You ain't bad at this," Renia managed with a grin, though her teeth were clenched together.

"Of course I'm not!" Maina replied. "I was trained to be the best!" Pushing backwards, she came in for an attack at the side while Renia stumbled against the lack of opposition.

If she thought she had a clear blow, she was wrong, though. The two sticks came together again hard, snapping them both clean in half. The broken ends scattered in all directions as the two separated.

"Ah, Kou-sensei's gonna be pissed," Renia muttered, tossing the broken weapon aside.

"Kou-sensei?" Maina asked in surprise, tossing her own broken stick behind her like Renia had done. "Who's that?"

"Everyone calls Akane that when she's teaching," Renia said with a shrug. "Just like people..."

"Call Ranma Ryu-sensei?" Maina finished. At Renia's startled look, she smiled. "I heard Shampoo mention it to him when I first got here."

Later on, neither could really say who started and who finished, but they both came together suddenly to start the actual sparring. Renia went on the offensive right away, and Maina ducked and spun aside of every attack that she threw.

"How are you..." Renia muttered through clenched teeth. "… dodging all my attacks!" Her last strike hit the wall hard, splintering the wood. She pulled her hand back quickly and ducked on instinct as Maina took the advantage to attack in her stead.

"I'm just faster than you, that's all!" Maina said with a grin as she attacked in full. To her great surprise, however, it was Renia's turn to nimbly avoid everything she threw at her.

When the two separated again, both were breathing a little heavily. "You're not bad," Renia admitted. "Care to up it a bit?"

"You aren't too bad yourself," Maina said with a smirk. "But if I went all out, you wouldn't stand a chance!"

"Put your words in action then!"

As one, they turned to leave the Dojo and stepped into the backyard. Almost as soon as they touched the grass, Renia turned to attack again with a flying kick. When Maina blocked it firmly with a forearm, Renia pushed off the steady target to try a spinning kick.

Maina ducked beneath it and came up with a hard punch to Renia's stomach, knocking her backwards and into the wall of the Dojo. She sort of bounced off it, but landed on her feet. With almost a feral growl, the red head shot forward to attack again. Just before she reached her, though, Renia vanished from view.

"What?" Maina demanded loudly, turning quickly to try and catch some sign of her opponent. "Where'd you go?"

She didn't see Renia come out of the Umisen right where she had vanished - given that she couldn't actually move in it yet - which meant she didn't have the chance to dodge the kick that sent her sprawling.

"Who doesn't stand a chance now?"

The brunette leapt backwards and landed on the roof of the house itself. Taking the hint, Renia leapt back to land on the Dojo. They looked to each other for a moment before attacking in the air.

Maina blocked the first kick easily, and spun around, catching the other girl in the side with her hair, using it like a fierce whip. She pulled hard in response, knowing she had caught her arm, but then they were apart again, and she landed easily on the roof of the Dojo.

Renia was standing on the house, breathing harder than before. "That hair thing's a good trick!" she said carefully, buying a touch of time. "I almost wish I hadn't said it looked nice, now..."

Maina took the offensive this time, pushing off hard and fast, intending to finish things before they went much further. Nodoka had been right - she was tired from travelling. Renia leaping straight at her rather than at an angle caught her completely off guard, and she only had the time to bring up a moderate defense.

She did manage to catch the other girl's ankle, bringing her crashing to the ground right alongside her. She landed hard, winding herself, but forced herself to sit up anyway.

Renia looked to be in about the same boat, but had made it to her feet. Neither had a chance to say anything, though, before Mousse stepped out from the tearoom.

"That was very impressive, both of you. I believe that ends things in a draw for the night." He stepped aside from the open doorway and motioned inside.

"But Ahiru-sensei!" Renia started to object.

"I thought, Ki-chan, that my words were clear enough," Mousse said calmly. If Renia was calling him as a sensei, and not as an adult - in which case she would have simply called him Mousse - then she had to understand that his word was final in this matter.

Maina didn't say anything, but walked swiftly towards the house to get inside. Renia's voice called after her. "Nice match, Maina! You ain't half bad!"

She stopped in the entrance and whirled around on the other girl swiftly. "I'm not just 'not half bad!' I am the best!" she said fiercely. "Nodoka was right when she said I was just tired. On a good day, you really wouldn't stand a chance!" She was inside before Renia could respond at all, and nearly tripped over Chika, who was sitting on the steps.

"Sorry, Maina-chan!" Chika said in an overly loud voice. "I didn't mean to get in your way of going upstairs!"

Maina ignored the young girl and leapt over her to go up the stairs quickly. She knew that Renia had, technically, beaten her. That left a very bitter feeling in her mouth. On one hand, she was supposed to be the best, without question. That's why she had trained for almost her entire life - even since she had learned how to walk. Not to be second place, but to be the best!

On the other hand, though, Renia was her friend... wasn't she? She had offered, and they had gotten along so well before they had started sparing. Would that fight destroy their new friendship, or would they both be able to put it aside?

She found her room easily enough - she assumed it must have been Kasumi who had put up her name on the door, the third door on the left. When she pushed the door open, she was surprised to find Akiko reaching for the door as though to leave. Behind her was a massive mess - all of Maina's belongings were strewn about on the floor.

"What's going on here?" she demanded in surprise.

"I'm sorry, Maina-chan, I really am!" Akiko said quickly. "It was all Setsumi's idea, she wanted to know more about you and the adults aren't saying anything but it's obvious they know what's going on but no one ever tells us anything, not even anything about otousan's past so we thought that we'd never know more about you than what they had already told you but you were..."

She was forced to cut off her attempt at an apology when Maina covered her mouth with her hand. She sighed and looked into the young girl's green eyes. "Could you try that again?"

"Otousan never tells us what's going on with newcomers," she said a bit slower. "They're usually gone before we even get a chance to greet them. One girl seemed really nice, too, but she hated okaasan more than anything. That was a couple years ago, and we never even learned her name! We just..."

"We?"

"Yeah, Setsumi, Chika, and me, we just wanted to..."

"Setsumi, you, and Chika?"

"Yeah, like I said. Anyway..."

"Hold on a minute..." Maina said. She hadn't dealt with kids ever before, and this one seemed to have the uncanny ability to talk forever without stopping. "Look, how about you start from the beginning. Which ones are your otousan and okaasan?"

"Ranma and Akane," Akiko said with a frown. "What, you didn't know that? Everyone's always tellin me that I look just like okaasan!"

Now that it had been pointed out, she actually could see the resemblance between the two, even though she hadn't seen much of Akane. Her mother had told her enough about what she looked like, though. This girl, this seven year old, had the same short blue black hair and the same piercing green eyes. It was also evident that she was extremely tired, because she didn't put the point together that, since Akiko and Renia were sisters, Renia must be a Saotome as well.

"So, Setsumi and Chika are your..."

"Friends," Akiko said with a smile. "Setsumi's parents are Ono and Kasumi, but we don't know who Chika's parents are. It's a long story, you wanna hear it?"

"How about I ask her later?" Maina suggested, trying to cut her off before she got started again. "So, what can you tell me about Minoru?"

"That baka?" Akiko asked, sticking her tongue out at the thought of him. "He thinks he so good, but he's just a pain! As if his blue hair doesn't make him stand out enough, he won't wear the school uniform, no matter what happens, and he just about refuses to talk to anyone! But, the worst part is when the grown ups aren't around; he always thinks he's the one in charge. Renia is older than him anyway, so it should be her, but no! He just has to be Mr. Big shot and ruin everything! He never lets us do anything fun if he thinks he can get away with it! I mean..."

"Alright, Akiko," Maina said when the girl paused to take a breath. "Thanks. Look, I'm really tired right now, so do you think I could have my room back so I could get some sleep?"

"You mean, you ain't gonna tell anyone what we was doing?"

Maina smiled to her. "It can be our little secret, okay?"

Akiko nodded and pretended to zip her lips closed before scooting out of the room and disappearing downstairs. Just as she was shutting the door, a foot appeared in it, blocking it open. Looking up, she found herself face to face with Renia, who looked livid.

"Just where do ya get off sayin yer the best, and then takin off like that?" she demanded. "Everyone around knows that I'm the best!" She then muttered something that sounded distinctly like "of those under thirty..." before going on. "I challenge you to an official match, after school tomorrow! I'll show you just what the heir to the Anything Goes School can do!"

"Heir?" Maina asked in surprise. "But I thought..."

"What, you thought I wasn't good enough to be the heir?" Renia yelled. "I beat you today, even if ya won't admit it! And I'll do it again tomorrow!"

"I thought Minoru was the heir," Maina whispered, but apparently the words were loud enough for Renia to pick them up, because the redhead threw her head back and laughed.

"That baka, the heir to the school? Maybe to the Hidden Weapons mastery, he's Mousse and Fenrish's kid!" she said, shaking her head and turning around. "I'm the eldest Saotome kid, and that makes me the heir, got it? Course, I don't mind sharin it with Akiko, but that don't mean I ain't it!"

"So... who is your brother, then?" Maina asked softly. She knew before she asked that she wouldn't like the answer. The only thing she couldn't come up with was just how her mother had managed to mix things up so badly.

"Brother?" Renia asked, startled. "I don't got a brother. It's just Akiko and me," she explained. "Why? What made ya think I had a brother?"

Maina turned away from her, to hide her face to make sure her tears couldn't be seen. "I'm sorry, Renia. I didn't mean to make you so mad at me... but I won't be staying long anyway, I guess." She thought she would finally be able to settle down and stay put - her mother and sensei had promised her that! All the hard work, all the painful training, even the scars would be worth it, if she finally had a family to call her own.

"What? Why would you leave? We're just having a little fight, that doesn't mean we ain't still friends! C'mon, don't leave, please! I need a training partner like you, someone who I haven't had a chance to watch since I started!" Renia put a hand on the other girl's shoulder to try and turn her around, but Maina jerked away.

"Look, just leave me alone!" Maina said harshly. "I can't stay here now!"

"Can't you at least tell me why not?"

Maina sighed and closed her eyes, squeezing out a couple of tears, which fell unbidden to the ground slowly. "You don't have a brother..." she whispered. "I was supposed to marry your brother... and without that, I can't stay here, and I let my mother and sensei down. I have nothing..."

* * *

I really appreciate the responses I've been getting so far. Thanks everyone!

meia: That is something that will be explained later, sorry. Some is shown through the epilogue of the first piece, though.

a: I'm glad you like it so far. I see what both of you are saying, and hopefully more of what I'm going for will come to light before too long – Ranma and Akane didn't necessarily teach them the advanced stuff… they just picked it up from watching. As for the Hibiki's… I have plans for them, don't worry. And you are along the right lines in the assumption, too. You also picked up the main reason Ryoga didn't stick around.

But no, Chika doesn't have the Hibiki problem – nice guess at who her parent's are, though. In truth, I doubt anyone will be able to guess.

SilverBullet23: Well, as you now know, it's sort of hard for him to honour it anyway, given that he doesn't have a son, right? Once it slips who her sensei is (she won't tell him, but it will come to light in other ways). Yes, Genma has gotten better, btw, but is not in Ranma's league even still. Mind you, after killing a god and a devil, who is?

Nonengel: Sorry you felt it was short – it was around 5500 words. I don't intend on making many 15000 word chapters for this fic, as they take far too long to write and I feel pushed with them. The shorter ones flow a bit better, in my mind. That's not to say there won't be some long ones (next is 15 pages already), but very few whoppers. As for Chika's parents… it is odd, isn't it? I'll tell you this much – her parents didn't get lost on her. She might have slipped out when they weren't watching, but they didn't get lost. And she always knows where she is.  
Hmm… Might as well reply to the prologue review at the same time. I realize that it will take some time to get used to the odd nicknames Fenrish has come up with. They won't be used all the time (though they are fun to annoy certain people…) You will get more information about Muu Tsu and Phen Riche, as well as Ryoga and Akari, though the later pair won't be for a while. Glad you liked Maina.

Wonderbee31: You are correct. As for Akane's reaction, remember that this is fifteen years later. It will be a bit harsh, but not too bad at first – she heard what Ranma had to tell her, and feels sorry for the girl more than anything. I'm glad you liked how Shampoo and Ranma got along now – you can expect more of that, as well as some Shampoo and Akane – two who never really saw eye to eye before.

AriesNoShion: I know it's a bit earlier than expected, but I fully intend to be able to post one chapter each week in at least one of my fics. Sometimes more, as seen with this for now… Anyway, I'm glad you like the starting. Genma did, indeed, stick with Ukyo (free food and all that), but it wasn't his idea to hook the kids up – for once.  
Later.

Kyrtythren: Thanks, I've fixed that for this chapter, and will go back later to fix it there, too. I will cover the adult/kid situation shortly – chapter four is the first real training session that we see, and Maina actually asks about just that (convenient, ne?)

Krizz: Thank you so much. Don't worry about how long it took – I know some of my work is rather lengthy… glad you liked my hp fic, too. Anyway, I know you've received that email by now. Wish I knew what happened, but what's done is done, I guess. I won't keep you in suspense for too long (though it may be several chapters longer than you might like…)  
Thanks for looking at my novel, too. Appreciate it.

---------------------------

Please don't get used to frequent updates like this. I intend to update one chapter a week, but that's for all my fics (in otherword, my HP fic and this one, as my Evangelion one is on hold for now). That means that the wait won't be too long, but it could be a couple of weeks. Sorry about that, but at least this much has been quite fast!

Thanks to **AriesNoShion** – my muse – and **SilverBullet23** – my beta. You guys make this much easier to deal with.

Until the sun sets upon a broken world…  
**The Shadows**


	4. Honpou Oushi

Chapter Three: Uninhibited Truths – Honpou Oushi

Honpou Oushi means 'uninhibited truth' or 'wild knowledge.'

* * *

It was one of the rare times in her life when Renia didn't say or do the first thing that went through her mind - namely, scream the word 'what' at the top of her lungs. In fact, to her own surprise, she found herself slipping into Maina's room and closing the door quickly and quietly.

"You wanna try that again? From the top, maybe?"

Maina shook her head, keeping her eyes closed tightly and trying to make herself as small as possible. If didn't seem right to her that everything she had been working for for her entire life was suddenly... wrong.

If she wasn't so tired, she probably would have shaken off Renia's arms as they wrapped around her. She noticed then, in some small part of her mind, that she was a little shorter than the elder Saotome. Most of her thought process was going into trying to figure out what was going on...

It was a hug. Renia was hugging her, just minutes after screaming at her. She couldn't hold her tears back any longer, and collapsed against the taller girl, sobbing so hard she thought she might break. She had never been allowed to cry before, never been allowed to show any type of weakness whatsoever. And she certainly hadn't ever been hugged when she was feeling down.

"It's alright, Maina-chan," Renia whispered to her, keeping her tight hold on the girl. "Otousan wouldn't just throw you out, don't worry. You can stay here as long as you'd like... really."

"But... but I was supposed to..." she tried, but her words kept getting cut off by another long, drawn out sob. It was so painful to be crying so freely, but at the same time, it was making her feel a lot better.

"Just shut up for a minute, would ya?" Renia asked with a grin, guiding Maina over to her futon and sitting down on the edge of it with her. "Get a hold of yerself first. I don't care what's goin on, I said I'd be a friend of yours, and I ain't backing down now." That was one thing her mother had trained into her for as long as she could remember. Once a friend, always a friend. Don't offer such a precious thing lightly - and she hadn't. Maina had seemed like a nice person when she first laid eyes on her, and she meant what she had said.

"Even though I came here, looking for..."

"I thought I told ya to shut it."

Maina smiled and giggled to herself. It wasn't the nicest of things to have had said to her, but it was a lot nicer than anything she had heard for a very long time - well, at least the tone in Renia's voice was nicer. She nodded and focused on getting her emotions under control again before speaking again.

"Do you wanna know why I came here?" she asked softly.

"I sure ain't going anywhere until I find out, so... yeah."

"I guess I should start at the beginning, eh?" Maina asked, closing her eyes again to ward off her own emotions. She knew she didn't have to in Renia's company - her previous sobfest had proven that - but she needed to if she was going to tell her anything. "You'll probably recognize my mother's name. Kounji Ukyo, the okonomiyaki chef. She was your dad's fiancée years ago."

"She was?" Renia asked with a small giggle. "Well, that doesn't surprise me as much as you might believe. He did have quite a few. There's still a couple coming around every now and then. The last was a few years ago - we never even learned her name before she was gone."

"What?"

"What what?"

"What do you mean? Mom was his fiancée."

"_One_ of his fiancées. He had more than a dozen, so far as I've been able to figure out. Zaa-chan included," Renia explained. "I never knew about any others that were around before mom and dad got married - they don't talk about that time very often. I've just found little things every now and then, and sometimes Nabiki says something to me, like she wants me to know, but knows she shouldn't tell me."

"I thought mom was the only one..." Maina whispered, more to herself than to Renia. "Well, anyway, she was his fiancée years ago. But then your mother came in and stole her from her in some petty contest. Mom got pregnant with me a few months later and took off from here, vowing to reclaim her honour later."

"Petty contest?"

Maina shook her head. "She never told me what it was about," she explained. "But that's what she told me. Anyway, once I was old enough, she started training me in Martial Arts. My sensei too. They both said for as long as I can remember that I would be the best. The Anything Goes style would carry me to the end, and no one would be able to beat me. No one has in years, either."

"I beat you tonight," Renia pointed out.

"Mousse called that a draw," Maina objected. "So you didn't beat me."

"Then I'll beat you tomorrow." The smile of Renia's face told Maina that, while she was being serious, it wasn't something to fight about now.

"Growing up was tough - sensei would always be pushing me, no matter what time of day it was. He'd get me up at two in the morning, just to make sure I could be ready at anytime. Not only that, but I didn't get a full meal to myself ever! Supper tonight was a dream! I didn't have to fight anyone off for anything I wanted! I knew that it could be like that, but I've never seen it before now..."

"So that's why you had this spaced out look for most of supper, then?"

Maina shrugged. "Didn't know I did. Anyway, as soon as I got my first period, my mom started talking about why I was training. I didn't care for a while, but after she told me for the hundredth time, I started taking it seriously. I was to train to be the best so I could come home and marry Ranma's son. She told me that home was wherever Ranma Saotome lived."

"So you were told for the last three years that you had to..."

"A little more than three years… but yeah. Everyday, at least three times," she said. "It's a matter of family honour that I have to regain. Mom lost hers when Akane stole Ranma from her, and it's up to me to get it back. But now I can't, because you don't even have any brothers!"

"Yeah, and that's so my fault," Renia muttered sarcastically. "It's just me and my sis. Sorry I wasn't born a guy, just for you."

Maina moaned at the sarcasm and flopped back on her bed. It was the first time she had laid down on it, and it felt wondrous beneath her. "I am going to beat that panda into a bloody pulp when they finally get here," she muttered. "And then I'm gonna have to have a good long talk with mom. Obviously they can't make me marry your brother, seeing as how you don't have one!"

Renia was suddenly very quiet, and when Maina opened her eyes, she saw her friend was looking concerned. "You said... panda?"

Maina winced. "Sorry, I wasn't supposed to mention my sensei at all! Can you just forget that, please?"

"Look, I ain't gonna go telling anyone about any of this, alright? The panda... he had a Jusenkyo curse, didn't he?"

"I guess you know now, don't you?" Maina sighed slowly. "They must have told you about Ranma's father, right?"

"Yup. They didn't know what happened to him, though. He vanished during their honeymoon, and hasn't been heard of since."

"Trust me, he's alive and kicking. Kicking hard, too."

It was Renia's turn to flop backwards onto the bed and let out a sigh. "If you were trained by Saotome Genma, then you must be pretty good. He did train my dad and all..."

"I'm the best," Maina said automatically.

"We'll see about that later," Renia replied, her voice a little colder than it had been earlier. "I was trained by the best of the best, or didn't your mother or sensei ever tell you about how good my dad is?"

"Sorry," Maina whispered after a long, tense silence. "I guess I've got this terrible thing with saying things before I think..." To her great surprise, Renia let out a giggle and rolled off the bed with a soft thud. Looking over the edge, she found her still giggling, but trying to stop to say something in response.

"Saotome... foot-in-mouth..." she managed. "Got it too, don't worry."

"This should be interesting then," Maina offered with a grin of her own. "If both of us never watch what we say, and we both think we're the best, I think we're gonna fight an awful lot."

"We'll spar," Renia corrected her. "Fighting means we wouldn't be friends, but that isn't gonna change. But yeah, we'll spar. A lot, too, cause you ain't going anywhere for a long time." She crawled back onto the bed and laid down beside her new friend again. She turned her head to look at her, and rolled her eyes when all she could see was hair - and lots of it.

"You think your dad will let me stay, even though..."

"I don't think it, I know it," Renia cut her off. "Not only will he let you, but no one here'll say otherwise, neither. Not even mom."

Maina didn't reply for quite some time. Finally, she turned to her friend and smiled. "Thanks," she whispered. She didn't get a reply, and was surprised to find that she had actually fallen asleep on her bed. "Oh well," she whispered to herself. "It's still better than the ground outside..."

* * *

It was the most amazing thing, sleeping in. Never having had a chance to do so before, Maina wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. There was no alarm going off... no being pulled out of bed and thrown into the air... no being told to start breakfast... there was just silence.

She pulled her blankets up a little higher, enveloping herself in their warmth as she slowly regained consciousness. She wondered, briefly, just how late it was in the day. Surely dawn had broken by now. It took her a few minutes to convince herself to open her eyes, but when she did, she found herself still in darkness.

Thankfully, she had had a good look at the room last night. Throwing back the blankets, she walked over to the window and pulled the shades back. Instantly, her room was flooded with light. It was at least midday, if not almost noon.

After she had pulled the curtains closed most of the way again, she changed out of her clothes from last night - clothes that smelled somewhat rank, considering she had been working out just before going to bed. Once she had striped out of them, she quickly found another set of her clothes and pulled on a pair of pants. There were four more bras on her bag this morning, one of which seemed to fit rather well. When she had it clasped behind her - a task that was not nearly as easy as she had assumed it would be - she took a deep breath and smiled to herself. Her first time wearing a bra.

It really should have come before she was fifteen.

_Wait a minute... didn't Renia fall asleep in here last night?_ she thought to herself, looking back to the bed, only to find it empty. _And when did I get under the blankets, anyway?_

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts, and she pulled her shirt on quickly and crossed the room. "I see you are awake now." Ranma was standing on the other side of the door, and looked a little upset. "Good. Come with me." He turned before she had a chance to reply and started down the stairs.

Figuring she really had better do as he asked, she followed quickly. _Doesn't seem quite as understanding as Renia made him out to be last night..._

"Have a seat," he suggested, motioning to one side of the table they had sat around last night for supper. It wasn't a suggestion at all, and she knew it.

"I'm..."

"Do you have any idea how hard it was to get everyone else out of the house so I could talk with you alone?" he interrupted her. "I was starting to think you'd sleep passed noon, and I know that Nabiki will be back by then at the latest!"

_So that's why he's upset... he's been waiting for me. _"Gomen nasai," she said, bowing her head. "I didn't mean to sleep in as long as I did." To her great relief, he cracked a smile then.

"Yeah, I can't blame you too much, though. I don't mind a good sleep in every now and then myself," he said with a shrug as he leaned back.

"So... where is everyone, then?"

"Well, all the other kids have school today," he explained. "The specialized training is going on right now, which says where Mousse, Fenrish, and Shampoo are."

"I didn't think Fenrish was a sensei," Maina interrupted before she could stop herself.

Ranma raised an eyebrow at her in surprise. "You are correct, she isn't," he said calmly. "But she is in training. Right now, I believe she is working on increasing her abilities with a sword under the lead of my wife." The way he said it made it sound like he was expecting her to challenge his statement.

"I understand."

"Good. As for Kasumi and my mother, they are out at the market. Nabiki is out meeting some old friends... in other words, doing some business... and Mr. Tendo has gone to the lumberyard."

"Lumberyard?"

Ranma shrugged. "All the adults know who you are, and knew your mother. He thought it prudent to start stocking up on supplies for repairs now, when he had the chance."

_And what does that have to do with mom?_

"By now, I assume you've learned the truth?"

His pointed question caught her off guard, but she managed to nod. After the silence started to stretch on, it became apparent that he was expecting an answer. "I spoke with both your daughters last night," she said softly. "Akiko was a little more random, but both said the same thing in the end. You don't have a son."

"That's right. Now, care to tell me what this is all about?"

It took quite a while for her to explain everything to his satisfaction. She was very careful to leave out any mention of her sensei, but aside from that, she went over all the details. Her mother felt that he had betrayed her and robbed her of her honour. The only way to regain her family honour was for Maina to marry Ranma's son. But obviously that plan wouldn't work at all, given how he didn't have one.

"So, what do you plan to do now?" The question was not harsh or pointed. In fact, if she didn't know any better, she almost thought the Grandmaster sounded... concerned.

"I don't know," she said softly. "It wasn't supposed to work this way."

"What would you have done had I refused your claim?" Ranma asked.

"I wouldn't have accepted, and I would have stayed right here until you changed your mind," she said almost at once. "I would have stayed as long as necessary."

He nodded slowly and looked out the tearoom door to the backyard, away from the brunette before him. She hadn't really noticed that the door had been slid open earlier. "How long until your parents show up?"

"My mom said she'd follow me after two months."

"And your dad?"

Maina looked away from him at the sudden question, fighting back the unexpected tears. She felt weak crying this time - last night it had felt right, but now... "I don't have one."

"Sorry," he offered quickly. There was another silence before he finally spoke again. "Do you want to stay here until then?"

"You would let me?"

"I'm not a monster, nor am I the saint I'm sure your mother painted me as. I'm sure both my kids have told you as much."

Maina grinned as the resolution that Renia had told her about finally came to pass. "Thank you, Saotome Ranma."

He waved her off. "None of that, now. I do expect a few things from you while you are here, but I'll get to that in a minute." He looked back out the door. "You two can come in now. No sense hiding there for any longer, I can sense your auras."

Renia and Akiko both stepped out from behind the wall, looking a little sheepish at being caught. Maina met Renia's eye, and the taller girl shrugged. "I thought you said they were at school," she said, looking back to Ranma.

"I said they had school. I didn't say they went. I asked them both to stay, so they could help you get settled in. I know yesterday was a bit of a hassle," he explained.

Maina nodded and smiled over to both of them. Akiko was practically bouncing up and down in excitement, and Renia was sporting a relaxed grin. "What was it you wanted me to do?" she asked before going over to them, looking back to Ranma as he stood.

"Oh, not much. You practice the Art, so I expect you to keep training. We have various sensei here, and while training, you are to address them as such. I'll test your skills tonight and figure out where you are to go," he explained.

"Will I be training under you, too?"

"Everyone here trains under dad," Akiko said at once. "But we all call him Ryu-sensei while he's teaching."

Ranma groaned and looked over to his youngest daughter. "Now why did you have to tell her that?" he asked. "Now she's not gonna stop, either!"

"What else?" Maina asked. She didn't want to interrupt, but she did want to get upstairs with at least Renia. Akiko was a little too hyper for her liking, but she could sort that out, she was sure.

He didn't reply right away. Instead, he suddenly vanished from the room. Neither Renia nor Akiko seemed fazed by this - in fact, they seemed to think it was a perfectly natural thing to do. A minute or two later, he was back again, but this time, Nabiki Tendo was with him. She handed Maina a bundle of papers and, with a broad grin, walked off to the kitchen for a bite to eat.

"What's all this?"

"Those are your school papers," Ranma answered easily. "You are now registered at Furinkan High, and will probably be in the same class as Renia. Minoru is in the year below, as is Setsumi, even though she's a year younger." He then looked back to her as he was leaving the room. "Alright with you?"

"Hai..." she said hesitantly.

"Great. I'm going out to join my wife in the Dojo. If any of you need anything, you know where to find any of us."

"Hai... Ryu-sensei."

He stopped at the door and smiled to her. "I'm only that when I'm teaching. Otherwise, Ranma is just fine."

"Hai... Ryu-san," Maina said with a grin, getting the victory sign from both Renia and Akiko.

He left shaking his head. "I think you'll fit in fine around here."

Maina turned quickly before either Renia or Akiko had a chance to say anything and ran upstairs. She shut the door to her room and leaned against it, breathing heavily. _Why am I running again?_ she thought, clutching her arms across her chest. The feel of the papers in her hand brought her senses back. Pulling out the first page from the envelop, she found her name written across the top in both kanji and romanji. She didn't understand anything else, though.

"Hey, Maina!" Renia called, pounding on the door behind her. "C'mon, open up!"

"But..."

"Look, I got rid of my sis, so don't worry. It's just the two of us!"

She sighed, knowing already what good it did arguing with her. She was more stubborn than anyone she had ever met! "Sure... c'mon in," she said in a listless tone.

Renia whirled on her the moment she was inside. "What's up?"

"Uh..."

"Look, Akane's always sayin how I can read people better than anyone. Something's wrong, so spill it!"

"Do you always call your parents by their names?" Maina asked, trying to divert the other girl's attention. Renia just frowned at her, so she sighed and handed over the package.

"School stuff. What's the big deal?"

Maina turned away from her friend and looked out the window. "It's just that... well... I've never been to school."

"Never?"

"Never."

Renia shrugged. "No big deal. Okaasan can get you up to speed faster than you can think about it, don't worry. She's the best with schoolwork and anything like that!"

Maina shook her head. "I don't think so," she said harshly. "Even if mom was wrong about some things, I ain't just gonna turn around and start liking Akane right away. She stole Ranma from my mom!"

"Look, first of all, I don't call..." Renia started, and then sighed and shook her head. "Never mind. Look at it this way, would ya? If yer mom and my dad had gotten together, where would that leave us?" She didn't really give her a chance to answer. "We wouldn't be here! Ever think about that?"

"That doesn't matter!" Maina shouted back. "I've hated her for years! Even before I knew what hate was, I hated her! I can't just turn around now since you ain't a boy and start liking her!" She threw the door open and stormed out, trying to get away from Renia. She needed time to cool down, and she knew it. "She stole Ranma from mom! She's a temptress, and I'd be surprised if she hasn't gone behind Ranma's back at least once already!"

A resounding slap echoed throughout the otherwise still Tendo residence. Maina didn't even have a chance to react to the welt on her cheek before she found herself being hauled off into the backyard and thrown to the grass.

"That's it, Maina-chan!" Renia screamed. "Friend or not, I ain't gonna let ya talk about mom that way!" She gave her no chance to prepare herself before launching at her with a hard kick.

It was only thanks to her brutal training that Maina managed to dodge it and end up on her feet again. Although she could never bring herself to thank her sensei, she might have to beat him a little less severely next time she saw him.

With a spinning leap, she flipped over Renia and tackled her from behind, binding her arms to her side. Apparently it was a move that the red head was used to, however, because with an odd twist, she was free and Maina was in the air without any support.

She landed hard on the ground, but rolled aside of the next attack before leaping to her feet again. Deciding that her defense wasn't going to be enough forever, she spun aside of the next strike and started an attack of her own.

Catching Renia's left arm, she turned hard and threw the girl with all the strength she could muster. For her part, Renia simply went with the throw and landed on all fours facing her again. In an almost animal-like move, she shot forward again, tackling Maina at the knees, sending her crashing backwards into the Dojo steps.

With a tremendous effort, Maina managed to lift up both herself and Renia with her hands and pushed off the ground. She was sure in the air she would be able to get free and finish the fight.

She knew that the original Saotome branch of the School of Anything Goes was in midair, but she assumed that Renia wouldn't be as well trained as she was. When she found herself pinned beneath the taller girl on the ground again without any idea how it happened, she realized her mistake.

With a hard spin from her body, she managed to free herself, but ended up crashing headlong into the doors of the Dojo, smashing them open and landing on the wooden floor before leaping back to her feet.

"Look!" Renia demanded, pointing over Maina's shoulder. "If you can look at that and honestly believe that my mom has eyes for anyone but my dad, then... then..." Apparently she didn't know what that meant, and Maina found herself turning despite herself. She half expected to see the two on the floor ravaging each other like wild animals.

She did not expect to see them flowing seamlessly together as they almost danced across the floor. They were moving completely in time with each other - every punch, every block, every kick, every step was perfectly aligned with both the one before it and the one after it, and with each other's movement.

Maina stood transfixed as she observed the two perform nearly impossible flips, only to end up fully back-to-back again to defend each other from invisible attacks. While one threw a high punch, the other defended. When the other then kicked out, the other flipped over as though to protect both of them at once.

This was the kata that she had sworn she did not want to see. She couldn't look away as she watched, though. Renia was right - no one who did not completely trust and cherish the other could ever come close to pulling off such seamless teamwork.

The Setsuai no Kata.

When the two paused at the end and allowed their ki to surround them in a bubble to shield them, Maina found herself clapping despite herself. Renia echoed her clapping from behind her, and together, they seemed to draw the two powerful Martial Artists out of the trace that they had found themselves in - out of their own little world where only the two of them existed.

It was Akane who made the first move, and stepped towards Maina, holding out her hand. "You must be Maina. Ranma told me all about you... welcome to the Tendo Dojo," she said with a smile. She was breathing a little heavier than could be considered normal, but nowhere nearly hard enough considering what she had just taken part in.

Ranma hadn't even broken a sweat yet.

Maina took a step back, not taking Akane's hand. Instead, she just stared at her. "So... you are... Akane?"

Akane seemed to find the question somewhat amusing, given how she smiled as she pulled back her hand. "Yeah. Though it seems half the students insist on calling me Kou-sensei within these walls. I believe a certain baka husband of mine put them up to it to get even for something..." she said with a grin, looking back to Ranma.

"My mom told me all about you, Akane Tendo."

"No, it's Saotome now."

"I'll stand by what I said," Maina said firmly. She might have been impressed by the kata, and she couldn't find herself able to doubt the fact that they loved each other now, but that didn't take away from the fact that this was still the woman who had ruined her mother's life. The woman she had hated for almost fifteen years.

Akane closed her green eyes slowly, and Maina noticed almost instantly the thin red aura that had suddenly leapt up around the older woman. "Despite what your mother might have told you, I married Ranma out of love, and nothing else. We both loved each other... I loved him before your mother even came to this town in the first place."

"You stole him from her."

Maina had to grit her teeth not to be pushed back suddenly. Akane's red aura had leapt up around her, making it almost look like she was on fire. "I did not!"

It was Ranma stepping between the two that ended the argument. For his part, he had a very soft white blue aura surrounding him. It wasn't nearly as large as Akane's, but somehow it was even more unsettling.

"Unless you wish to be injured on only your second day within this house, I must insist that you step down, Kounji Maina." When she made no motion to move, she suddenly found herself flying from the Dojo, landing hard on her back in the grass outside. She had the impression that no hand had been laid on her - it had been entirely Ranma's aura that had thrown her so fiercely. It was still around him, and still looked insignificant. But she knew otherwise, without question now. "I made a request of you on your first day here. Please do not make me repeat myself."

"Gomen... Akane," Maina managed from the ground, bowing her head slightly. "It is very hard for me..."

"You appear to have inherited your mother's stubborn streak, not to mention her hardheadedness. She chased Ranma for ten years, even though she barely knew him."

"Don't throw me out... please..." she whispered.

Renia put an arm around her and helped her to her feet. "They won't throw you out," she whispered. "But don't think I'm happy with you right now either," she added with a warning squeeze. "I'm still your friend. I just happen to be your friend that's pissed at you."

"I want to see you in action," Akane suddenly said, breaking the silence that had fallen after Renia's declaration. "I want to see you fight."

"Gladly," Maina said at once, shaking off Renia and turning to face Akane squarely. "I'll show you just what I'm made of."

Akane shook her head. "Not me." Akane raised a hand in a wave, and Maina turned around quickly to find Shampoo coming out of the house. She had no idea when the sensei had returned to the house, or when the specialized classes had ended, or even what time it was anymore. "Sensei Xian Pu, I request your abilities to test this girl."

Shampoo looked startled for a moment at the official declaration. Usually, only Ranma called her by her real name rather than butchering it. It was only during training, but it was still better than nothing. To have Akane suddenly call her out like this...

"Xian Pu can do that," she said with a small bow towards Akane and Ranma, and then another towards Maina. "Renia, please step back, allow Maina be tested."

"One thing," Akane said, stepping between the two quickly. "No ki attacks, or even ki charged attacks. Understand?" Both nodded, and everyone stepped away from the two fighters.

Shampoo took a step back as well to gauge her opponent. Maina was standing with a loose stance, and had a small grin on her face. It actually caught Shampoo off guard for a moment – if not for the fact that the girl before her had long brown hair rather than a short red pigtail, she would have thought she had gone back in time and was facing Ranma all over again. There were other obvious differences in physical appearance, but the stance and attitude were nearly a perfect match…

Rather than test her defense right away, she waited for Maina to attack. She wasn't disappointed, either, as Maina leapt into the air and kicked down hard. She caught the foot easily with her forearm, but was knocked backwards by the other foot as the girl spun around to finish the kick.

_Hmm, she not bad._

With a smirk, Maina leapt up from her crouch to attack again. Again, Shampoo blocked with a forearm, and again Maina spun around to finish the kick. This time, however, the Amazon ducked beneath the foot and kicked out with her own, catching the prone Maina in the stomach and knocking her backwards.

For her part, Maina caught herself on her hands and flipped backwards. She whipped her hair out to try and catch Shampoo's foot, but she had already recovered. With a small growl, she attacked again, intending on finishing the fight once and for all. When her opponent actually managed to block most of her punches and kicks, she was quite surprised. Finally, she leapt forward over the purple haired woman and landed behind her, kicking back to hit her in the back.

Only she met with no resistance and fell backwards. When she leapt back to her feet, she found Shampoo standing squarely a few steps away. She didn't really have time to think before the attack began - and though she managed to block a good deal at first, she couldn't keep her muscles moving fast enough to block every punch.

Shampoo hit hard, too.

Finally managing to get her distance, she was surprised when Shampoo bowed to her. "What, it's over?" she asked.

"Shampoo know what she needs to," Shampoo said with a grin and another bow. "As a sensei, I will not do more for now." She then turned towards Ranma. "Maina style much like Ranma many years ago. Almost the same as when first met."

That seemed to catch Ranma's interest, and he turned towards her. "Really? And you say Ukyo trained you?" Maina grinned and nodded. That should show him that he married the wrong woman... "Anyone else?"

"Uh... here and there," she stammered. She should have expected the question to come, but she was under direct orders not to tell anyone about Genma. "Mom did a lot of it, though."

Ranma nodded and turned back to Akane. The two spoke quietly for a moment before turning back to her. "Alright then," Akane said with what looked like a forced smile. "It looks like you'll fit in with the advanced students for now."

"For now?"

"Yeah," Ranma said. "For now. We'll see what later brings, but for now, you can join the class about to start in the yard. We only started this exercise yesterday, so you can join in. You'll be working with Akane." He didn't have to say what he was thinking. She got the message loud and clear anyway.

_She is your sensei and you will treat her with due respect._

"Hai, Ryu-sensei." She then bowed to Akane, even though it hurt her inside to do so. "Arigato Kou-sensei."

* * *

I'd like to take a quick moment here to mention something that I'm sure people will point out to me before too long. Life energy, the aura, or whatever you wish to call it. Ki.  
This is not really an easy topic to cover quickly, but I'm going to try anyway. Ki is the Japanese term for the aura, one's life energy. I won't get into what that covers, but take it at a relative face value. Chi is the Chinese term for the same thing. Many people seem to use ki and chi interchangeable, but for Japan, ki is technically sound. In Indian, by the way, the same term is called Prana.  
So, why am I mentioning this now? Well, aside from this life energy that ki represents, ki also has another meaning in Japan (well, at least one other that I'll mention here). Aside from this, is means pure. Clean, pure, raw, crude. Sort of a mix of all of the above, in fact, would be the most accurate. Keep this in mind for Renia's nickname by Fenrish – Ki-chan. She is called this for a couple of reasons – aside from the fact that the name Renia means pure, her personality tends to be a little raw/crude at times, too. And when she's pushed into a corner, her fighting can be, too – but it is effective.

* * *

kayemsi: I'm glad you think so – both about the story and about Maina's obvious sensei. You're right, too, by the way, with Ukyo having to beat it into Genma to be willing to train her daughter… but it worked in the end. She did turn out a little bitter, but more of that will be explained once she actually shows up. But that won't be for a few chapters yet. 

a: I'm quite impressed that anyone managed to pick up on that, bravo. I'm not sure what told you exactly, but it will be an issue later, you can be sure of that. As to their story… that will also come to light once Ukyo makes her appearance in future chapters. She certainly did mess up Maina's life, though, didn't she?  
There will be a difference between Ranma/Genma's style, btw. It should become apparent in a couple of chapters, actually, when Ranma sits back to watch Renia and Maina spar. Genma's is more brutal and direct, while Ranma's is based more on ability – he sees Renia moving like an animal (almost catlike…) while Maina is sticking true to form. But that'll be better explained later.

nonengel: Yeah, it was a little painful… and this one's not much better overall. Hopefully the talk is up to standard. Once her sensei's name comes to light – two chapters away, btw – Ranma will definitely take to her a little more, and try to help more than he did before. Like you said, he knows what she's been through.

Krizz: I hope it lived up to standards. As to Ranma and Akane's ki training… yeah, I'll go into some detail, but nothing too much. After having my last story striped from the sight, I'll be cutting back a little in this department. The full thing will be at mediaminer, simply because I can post it there without worry. I get no reviews whatsoever there, but it will be up there, just like the full version of Shadows are Stirring. I know you've already seen the chapter, thanks for looking at it. (In truth, I had meant to send it to my beta, and sent it to you as well by mistake, but I appreciate you looking at it all the same…)

Wonderbee31: Jusenkyo waters very well may come into play, but I doubt in the fashion that you might expect. As for feeling sorry for Maina… you will, I expect. The arrogance thing should be fun to bounce off Renia's own, mind you. Ukyo's story will be a little worse.

* * *

Well, I assume that most of you have noticed the fact that the prequel to this – The Shadows are Stirring – has been removed from this site. That would explain my absence for the past while, given how I wasn't allowed to post new chapters since it happened. Today, that ban has been lifted. You can expect to see Shadows are Stirring back on this site before too long, but it will be a trimmed version – more so than before. I guess I should have listened to the Doc on that, and fixed it beforehand. Oh well, live and learn, right? You can find the full version at mediaminer, or check my bio for a link.  
Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter – please let me know what you all think. Thanks again to **AriesNoShion** and **SilverBullet23** for their help. Also to **Krizz**, who took a look at this beforehand as well.

That is all from within **The Shadows** for now…


	5. Sukuuru Shita Koui

The is an important author's note at the end of this piece, just before replies to reviews. I suggest reading it before the chapter itself, as it will help you understand some of what happens, but it is up to you.

Sukuuru Shita Koui means School Under Siege

* * *

Chapter Four: School Under Siege - Sukuuru Shita Koui 

_What more could I possibly ask for?_ Maina though to herself as she pulled her blankets up around her again. She was lying in her warm bed after having slept all night without interruption. Again. As if sleeping in the bed wasn't enough, she wasn't even pulled out of it to train in the dead of night. _All things considered, yesterday didn't go as bad as I thought it would after talking to Renia. Even if I did manage to upset both Ranma and Kou-san._

She had also come to a decision, even if it was a roundabout one. She had hated Akane since she could understand who people were... and there was never someone she hated so much, even though she had never met her. But Akane hadn't seemed upset by this - she had taken it in stride and tried to accept her and teach her. Maina's big problem was that she couldn't turn around suddenly and like the woman who had stolen Ranma from her mother.

But she could like Kou-san. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew it wouldn't make a difference one way or the other, but so long as she considered Ranma's wife to be Kou-san rather than Akane, she could tolerate her presence.

_Renia seems determined not to abandon me, too. I deserved it after what I said about her mom... but she's still my friend._ It felt really good to have a friend now. A real friend. The mere thought of it was enough to set her nerves at ease. _I'll have to make it up to her somehow._

After a few more minutes of lying in bed, she decided that it really was time to get up. She had slept long enough, and was supposed to start school today. That would be an experience, that's for sure. She had never gone to school, never really even learned to read. It was not something she was really looking forward to, either, but Renia had promised to help as much as she could. That was a definite bonus.

Once dressed in her usual green outfit, she made her way quickly and as quietly downstairs as possible, well aware that it was early morning still. The sun had barely started to rise, and the smell of early morning dew was in the air.

"Oh, good morning, Maina! Did you sleep well?" She froze in the entrance to the tearoom at Kasumi's voice, and could only stare in amazement. The sliding doors were open and it was obvious that two people were fighting outside, albeit completely silently. "I hope we didn't wake you."

"N... no," Maina stammered after a second or two. "Actually, I was worried about waking someone. I thought I was getting up early."

"You'd have to get up pretty early to beat them up," Renia said from behind her. Maina spun around and found Renia, Minoru, and Setsumi all standing there in workout clothes. "Even I don't get up that early, and I'm always up earlier than these two," she said with a grin.

"I was up before you today, Ki-chan," Setsumi objected. "And usually it's a tie anyway, you don't beat me!"

"There is no need to argue about such frivolous things," Minoru said softly, stepping between the two and continuing to the table. "We all were up in time to complete our morning katas. What more do you need?"

Maina didn't miss the grins exchanged between Renia and Setsumi.

"Ready for school today, Maina?" Kasumi asked kindly as she sat down next to the girl, brushing her long brown hair behind her so it wouldn't get near the food. "I understand it will be a new experience for you."

"I..."

"Things will work out," Kasumi continued as though Maina hadn't tried to stammer a reply but failed. "They always do around here, anyway. I've often thought that..."

Whatever Kasumi had often thought was lost in a sudden splash, followed by a string of yells. Looking up, Maina saw Ranma-chan helping Akane out of the koi pond, and couldn't help but smile at the sight of both of them dripping wet.

Ranma-chan plopped down across the table from her, still dripping water. "Sorry about that, Kasumi," she said with a sigh. "Didn't expect to get wet this early."

"Nabiki waterproofed the floors years ago, Ranma," Kasumi said with a soft smile. "Don't worry about it."

"Breakfast's ready?" Akane asked as she sat down next to her husband. She was also dripping wet, though her blue black hair seemed to be a little drier - probably because she wore it loose rather than bound in a pigtail like Ranma's hair.

"Of course," Kasumi said, standing again. "Just let me bring it in."

Something must have gone unsaid, because when Maina blinked, Kasumi was sitting down again, and neither Ranma nor Akane were at the table anymore. "Where'd they go?" Maina whispered to Renia, who had taken a seat next to her.

"Oh, one of them is getting breakfast to serve to us, and the other is going to wake everyone else up... well, everyone but Nabiki, anyway. She sleeps in until ten most days."

"Why are they doing that?"

The question went unanswered as food appeared on the table in front of everyone and Ranma and Akane sat down again. Ranma was male again, and seemed a little drier than he had earlier. The rest of breakfast was mostly a blur as Maina tried to ready herself for school. She figured it would probably have been a lot easier if she had any idea what to expect.

Just before everyone stood from breakfast, Maina turned back to Kasumi. "Is there any chance you could wake me up at the same time as the others tomorrow? I don't want to lose my edge, and I'd feel better if I at least did a few katas..." Kasumi promised that she would, and then sent her upstairs to get her things ready for school.

Another blur of her day went by before Maina found herself walking on the fence, just behind Renia and ahead of Setsumi. Minoru was there, too, but he was walking on the ground next to the fence. If any of them had been wearing skirts, Maina would have suspected he had a reason to be on the ground, but as not, she wasn't sure what he was playing at. Not that she could see the expression on his face - she could only see his blue hair from her vantage point.

"So, Maina, you might want to keep back when we get to school for today," Renia called after a few minutes of walking. "You've got to learn the ropes first before you take part in the morning sparring."

Maina nodded. "Sure thing," she said without thinking about it. She then faltered and stopped on the fence. "Wait... morning sparring?"

"Keep walking," Setsumi suggested. "We can't be late."

"But school doesn't start for another half hour!" Maina pointed out.

"And if we're too late getting to the grounds, then we'll be late for class for sure," Setsumi explained. "It's quite a crowd to fight through, and if we aren't there, then there's going to be quite a few girls in trouble."

"What?"

Renia was walking on her hands suddenly, looking back at Maina as she did so. "It's our principal who's done it," she said, as though that explained everything. "It starts up every couple of months, and eventually Ranma and Akane come and sort the whole thing out, so it dies down again. But it never lasts long."

"What never lasts long?"

She didn't get an answer as Setsumi suddenly leapt over her to join Renia in running along the fence. As they rounded the bend, Maina froze at the sight before them. The school was three stories high and looked to hold more than a hundred classrooms. It was a magnificent building... she had rarely seen anything so large before.

But what really caught her eye was the horde of boys waiting just inside the school gates, and the two groups of girls waiting outside. The group in front looked like they were preparing themselves, while the second group looked worried. When someone spotted Renia and Setsumi running towards them, a cheer went up from the girls.

"The fight is for the hand of a girl." Maina looked down from the fence at Minoru's proclamation. He almost never seemed to speak, so she was quite surprised that he was explaining it to her. "The principal has said that if anyone wishes to date a girl at this school, first he must best her in combat. Hence the horde of boys on the inside."

"And you aren't interested in anyone?" Maina asked with a small grin.

"Don't mistake me for one of them," Minoru said coldly. "I'm no hentai."

"I never..."

"And anyway, it wouldn't be fair for me to fight. Only Renia or Setsumi would have a chance... any other girl would be mine if I wanted them. Not very honourable, if you ask me," he continued as though she hadn't said a word in the meantime. "Now, if you'll excuse me, it appears that it is about to begin."

Maina leapt down from the fence as Minoru dashed forward into the fray of fighting that had started with a battle cry. She knew the cry had been from Renia, and Maina couldn't help but smile at the thought of her friend protecting so many of the girls who really couldn't fight.

She then figured out why there were two groups. The first group of girls - those ready to fight - were probably students at the Dojo in either the beginner or intermediate classes. They would look at Renia and Setsumi as leaders...

The shocking blue hair in the middle of the horde startled her out of her thoughts, and Maina leapt up to the gates of the school to get a better view as to what was going on. Minoru had said that he didn't take part in the fighting, so what was he doing in the thick of it? It had to be him, too - no one else had hair like that!

A large boy close to the blue hair suddenly flew up over the crowd and crashed into the wall of the school. Two more followed him quickly, easily three of the larger boys in the horde. Maina watched closely, trying to figure out what was going on. If Minoru was fighting, then she wanted to know how he fought. Surely she would spar against him sooner or later, and all the experience she could get would help her crush him.

She was the best, after all.

She spotted Minoru come up from a crouch again, slamming into a boy that was about to strike a girl from behind. When the girl spun around to attack the stunned boy, Maina was surprised to see that it was Setsumi.

_Is he in there to protect Setsumi and Renia?_ She kept watching, following the blue hair from victim to victim... each of which was getting dangerously close to Setsumi. She couldn't spot Renia's red hair anywhere in the crowd until most of the boys had been dealt with and Minoru leapt out of the fray and landed next to Maina on the gate.

"You should get to class before you are late," he said before leaping up again and into an open window. The rest of the fight was over after a few minutes, at which point Maina leapt down next to Renia and Setsumi.

"See what we mean?" Setsumi asked with a smile, working on catching her breath again. "Not your everyday fighting, if you know what I mean..."

"Minoru explained it to me," Maina said with a grimace. "I'm helping tomorrow... I wouldn't want to see any girl beaten into submission like they were trying to do."

"It wouldn't be as bad if any of the boys were on _our_ side," Setsumi said in exasperation. "But any that aren't involved always seem to get inside before it starts, and never bother helping."

Maina caught herself from saying anything about Minoru when she saw Renia shake her head subtly. She nodded in return, and then motioned to the school. "Well? I guess I'm supposed to stick with you, right?" she asked Renia. "And Setsumi's got to get to her own class?"

Once she was in class, Renia directed her to the back of the room, where there were two empty seats still available. She saw the redhead nod to most of the girls as she passed them in their seats, but no one said anything until they had sat down.

"Thanks for your help again today, Renia-san," one of the closer girls whispered to her.

"Yeah," another echoed. "Without you and Setsumi-san, we wouldn't stand a chance out there!"

Renia shrugged. "It's not a problem. We've gotta get here too, ya know. Besides, with a bit more training, you guys won't have trouble with them neither!"

"Maybe a bit for you, Renia-san, but it'll take us years to get that good!"

The class representative stopped the conversation when she stood at the teacher's entrance and had the rest of the class stand with her. Once they had all bowed to her and sat back down, Renia leaned over to Maina. "Ya hear all that?" she asked in a whisper.

"Yeah," Maina replied, not sure where the other girl was going with it.

"They always call us that. Renia-san this, or Renia-san that. I'm sick of it."

"What?" Maina asked in surprise. "Why? What's wrong?"

Renia sighed and put her head down on her desk. "For once in my life, can't I be just plain Renia? Or even Renia-chan?"

Maina nodded and smiled to her. "I know what you mean... Renia-chan," she said softly. "Though for me, just having a friend who would consider me that close would be a surprise."

Renia had looked up in shock when Maina had called her Renia-chan, and smiled back. "Thanks, Maina-chan. You might be surprised by this... but I think you're one of my first real friends..."

Maina caught her breath in her throat before she could reply. She had thought the same thing about Renia earlier on, and knew how much that friendship meant to her. To find out that it meant just as much to Renia... she would not betray that friendship! No matter what happened!

Class itself was quite difficult for her. She couldn't read what the teacher was writing, and she had a very hard time following most of it. She understood that the teacher wasn't writing in kanji, but in romanji - which apparently made it easier for most to understand, but it made no difference to her. She only recognized a few letters, those being the ones in her own name, and that of Ranma Saotome.

She did, however, notice that the other students weren't the only ones who called her friend Renia-san. The teacher also used the honourific title, rather than just call her by name. She was so caught up in wondering what everything was about that lunch came rather quickly, thankfully.

Just before the bell rang, though, the speakers crackled to life. "A new visionary flower hath doned upon our doorsteps," whoever was speaking said calmly. "I require everyone whosoever believes in life and fate to rejoice with us in the gymnasium as I introduce her upon the school."

"What's that all about?" Maina whispered to Renia, who had groaned and set her head on her desk heavily. "Why are you so upset?"

"The principal got wind that you're new here," Renia said as she stood up at the bell. "Which means he's going to welcome you to the school, not to mention 'introduce' you to us," she added sarcastically.

"That doesn't sound so bad..." Maina said softly as she followed her friend to the gym. Once there, she found that the entire school had gathered, and she caught sight of a tall man in samurai robes standing at the front, leaning on a wooden bokken. Behind him stood another twenty boys, all decked out in full kendo garb and with kendo bokkens instead of wooden ones.

"There's your welcoming committee," Renia whispered. "The guy in front is our principal... they say he kicked his father out when he graduated and took the position without anyone able to say anything about it."

"Springtime always brings flowers of such magnificent beauty," the principal said smoothly, bowing slightly to her before leaping over to the podium he had set up. "The wondrous flower that stands before you next to the fierce tigress Saotome Renia is called Kounji Maina," he called out to everyone. Most people, rather than applaud, took several steps away from the stage. "Such a delicate specimen must properly be welcomed unto our fortuitous abode with a date from perfection." He then sighed and looked away from them all. "Sadly, I am not allowed to make that offer myself, as I am no longer a student here. But one of the kendo team is surely close enough!"

"What are you trying to pull here, Kuno?" Maina demanded, taking a step forward as she remembered the name of the man her mother had told her about that always seemed to speak in some type of poetry. "I ain't here for no date! I'm here ta marry a Saotome!"

"Marry a Saotome?" Kuno repeated in surprise. "Neigh, I forbid it! A flower like yourself should not be corrupted by the vile sorcerer known as Saotome Ranma!"

"The fact that there ain't any Saotome boys wouldn't have anything to do with it, would it?" Maina asked sarcastically. "Obviously I can't go with it, but that doesn't mean I'm just gonna..."

She was forced to cut herself off as she ducked under a crude bokken thrust from behind. It seemed that the kendo club had decided to attack while she wasn't watching. Rolling forward to avoid another attack, she whipped her hair back and caught the offending attacker around the wrist, throwing him before her to land hard on the ground, knocking him out of the fight already.

Rolling part way forward so she was on all fours, she leapt into action much like she had seen Renia do yesterday. It wasn't quite as effective as Renia's had been, but the kendoist didn't have nearly the skill of either of them, so it did work. She crashed headlong into two more, sending them into the floor, and caught another around the throat with her hair again.

He managed to break free when the ribbon tying the bottom of her hair up fell out. She kicked out hard and low to catch him in the shin as she dove to retrieve the precious fabric before it got lost. He flipped over her, and she was ready before he landed, kicking him in the back and into the crowd of attackers that was left.

When she stood up cleanly and took a step back, it seemed that there were only a couple of them left. Obviously, they didn't have nearly enough skill to take her on. With a hard strike to the chest, one of the two crumpled easily, but the other managed to hit her hard in the back, making her stumble forward and cry out.

Before he could take advantage of the situation, Maina's instincts took over. She had been training under brutal conditions for too long not to be willing to put everything into a single attack to protect herself. The kendoist had hit hard, but she ignored the pain completely as she spun around in the air, catching him in the head with a roundhouse kick. He spun in the air and landed with a crash on the stage, breaking through the wood and ending up on the floor beneath it.

* * *

"You know, that hair thing would work a lot better if you braided your hair," Renia whispered to Maina once class started up again. Maina turned to the redhead in surprise, and found herself looking into her blue eyes. "You wouldn't risk losing that ribbon that way, and it would hurt a lot more, too."

"What do you mean?" Maina whispered back.

"Well, braid it," Renia said with a shrug as she leaned back in her chair. "It'd bind it up tighter than having it loose, and make it a better weapon. You've gotta teach me how you control it, though. It's like it's another arm or something for ya."

Maina didn't have a chance to reply before a chalkboard eraser bounced off Renia's head, causing her to look to the front of the class quickly. The teacher was looking at her and pointing out to the hall. Renia shrugged and stood up. "Gomen, sensei."

"Water duty, Renia-san. Now."

"What's that?" Maina asked in surprise as Renia turned to leave the classroom.

"Keep quiet, Kounji, unless you wish to join her."

"I'd like that, thanks," Maina said, standing in her seat to follow Renia. She saw the shocked looks from everyone else in the class, but didn't really understand why until they were both out in the hall with a bucket of cold water in each hand.

"You really had no idea?" Renia asked in surprise.

"How would I?" Maina muttered under her breath. "And what'id we do to deserve this, anyway?"

"I was talking too loud, I guess," Renia replied with a grin. "And you volunteered, remember?"

"Pretty stupid of me, huh?"

"Classic foot-in-mouth mixed with no knowing what's goin on," Renia said, setting her buckets down and turning to the shorter girl. "Look, you want me ta show you what I meant by braiding yer hair? I could do it now for ya, if ya'd like."

"You could?"

"Well..." Renia said, looking up and down the hall carefully. "We're not suppos'ta set the water down until a janitor comes for it, but there ain't nobody around ta stop us now. It won't take long, even with the amount a hair you've got. I can do it pretty quick, given how often I do my own sometimes."

"Why would you put it in a braid?" Maina asked in surprise. Renia's hair loose in the ponytail looked fine to her, and she couldn't imagine the other girl using her hair like a the weapon she was suggesting.

"Sometimes ya gotta dress up a bit," Renia said. "Now turn around, and I'll get ta work." True to her word, she was very fast with the twists and turns of braiding... so fast that Maina couldn't really follow it - not that she could have anyway given how she couldn't see behind her. She was also surprised that Renia didn't pull on her hair even once.

It took all of five minutes to do the three feet of long brown hair tightly into the braid. Once she finished, she took the ribbon and tied it around the end again, this time threading it through one of the braids as she did so. It was only then that Maina got a look at what she had done, exactly.

It looked almost like a bundle of knots had been tied into her hair, but it was obvious that that wasn't it. In fact, at first glance, she thought her hair was only twisted, but by the fact that it wasn't unraveling now that Renia had let it go told her that it wasn't just twisted.

"Tell you what..." Maina said softly as she ran a hand down a length of her bound hair before letting it fall naturally behind her. It felt a little heavier against the back of her legs now than it had before, but it fell... right... somehow. "If you teach me how to do that, then I'll teach you how I use my hair as a weapon. Deal?"

"Deal, Maina-chan."

"Thanks, Renia-chan."

* * *

After school was over - Renia and Maina had been let back into the classroom after being in the hall for almost an hour - they made their way back home, both walking along the fence again. Setsumi joined them before too long, and Minoru walked along the sidewalk next to the fence once again. This time, however, there appeared to be quite the crowd following them.

Maina didn't even have the chance to ask what was going on before Minoru spoke up. "I suppose no one told you how things run, did they?" he asked in his almost normal monotone. "After school is the beginner class for students at the Dojo. Ryu-sensei and Xian Pu-sensei usually run it, with okaasan helping out on occasion. Leaves us free to work on homework."

"Okaasan's working with you this afternoon, though," Renia called over her shoulder to Maina. "And I don't mean Akane. I mean Kasumi - we all call her okaasan, even though Setsumi's really the only one who should."

"She doesn't mind, though," Setsumi offered with a shrug. "She does tend to mother all of us, so she thinks it makes sense. One of Fenrish's few nicks that actually came about before she did."

"So yesterday, you weren't telling me ta learn school stuff from yer mom?" she asked Renia. "And I flew off at you fer nuthin?"

"Yup."

"S.F.I.M."

"You said it, Maina-chan."

Once the group arrived at home, the four kids who lived there went to their separate rooms to work on homework. Maina met Kasumi as she entered her room, and the two set to work to bring her up to speed.

Renia was glad that Akiko had been asked to help out in the classes today, given how she wanted their room to herself for once. She didn't mind sharing it with her younger sister most of the time, but today, where she wasn't going to be doing homework but looking at something else, she needed to be alone.

Shutting her door quickly, she dropped her pack right in front of it, to give her a touch of extra time in case she needed it. Then she crouched down and started digging under her bed. With a smile, she found the small case she had stashed there earlier and pulled it out.

When she opened it at her desk, she couldn't help but smile. The family martial arts scrolls, all in front of her. Several had names written on outside, names that she easily recognized as various positions or katas that she already knew. She wasn't interested in those ones... just the ones at the bottom that had wax seals on them.

"Umisen... yumisen..." she read quietly to the empty room. "The umisen needs looking at... I need to be able to move in it. But the yumisen I don't need... I don't need to be breaking into houses like that!" Giggling to herself, she pushed them aside and pulled out four more. One of the scrolls wasn't just sealed with wax - it was coated in it. In very small kanji script on the outside, etched into the wax itself, were three words. "Shishi no Ryuujin," she read softly. "Roar of the Dragon God..."

Setting that one out on her desk, she checked the others she had in her hands. "Neko-ken... Goraikou Ryu Aoriashi... Nagewaze-Ryu... Tachiwaze-Ryu..." Each of these were sealed with a regular wax seal, rather than coated completely.

Satisfied that she had enough to look at, she tucked the rest back into the scroll case and set it aside. Carefully, she slit the wax seals on the nagewaze-ryu and tachiwaze-ryu, knowing that the two were probably very similar anyway. She scanned them carefully, trying to memorize the important facts she would need for later. They were both throws, but throws that were significantly enhanced by one's own ki. It would take a lot of practice to pull them off...

She pulled out the wax stamp to reseal them again before putting them in the box. She then pulled out the Neko-ken scroll and slit that seal. She paled as she read it over, and then found words written in large letters at the bottom. "Sealed Technique. Never teach to another living soul. Mastery is nearly impossible, and the initial training is too much for almost anyone to live through. Sealed Technique."

Thinking for a moment, she realized that the two throws she had read about weren't actually sealed techniques... just hard. Her parents obviously didn't think any of them were up to learning them yet. Vaguely, she wondered as she resealed the Neko-ken if any of the other sensei already knew the throws. It didn't seem likely that the four kids would have all the training that the adults had, after all.

The next piece of rolled parchment she picked up had a wax seal along the entire edge. Apparently it was a little more dangerous than the other ones, which told her without any doubt that it had been sealed. It took quite a bit longer to slit the wax on that one so as not to leave any evidence.

Goraikou Ryu Aoriashi. _The Rising Dragon Kick?_ she thought to herself as she read the title of the technique. _Channelled ki... will to deceive and succeed... dragonic strength?_ She shook her head as she glanced at the different positions of the body throughout the move that allowed for the maximum ki flow. She remembered hearing Mousse and Shampoo talking about that kick a long time ago... apparently Ranma had tried it against Mousse, and had broken quite a few ribs and taken him out of commission for several weeks running.

If the move had the power to take down Mousse for an extended period, she suspected that it was sealed for a good reason. Of all the sensei aside from her own parents, Mousse had always seemed like the strongest. Of course, she had never met Ryoga, but between Mousse and Shampoo, there was almost no competition. If Fenrish had been a sensei, then even still Mousse would have won - he could take a beating without flinching.

As she set about resealing the wax on the Dragon Kick scroll, she thought for a moment about just what she knew about Ryoga. Admittedly, it wasn't very much - none of the adults mentioned him very often. Most of the time, she caught the tail end of conversations about him, but that was about it.

She really had to have a sit down with Nabiki before too long to find out just what was going on and what had happened.

The last scroll she had taken out was easily the most intriguing. It wasn't just sealed with wax like the others, or even with a long wax line like the Goraikou Ryu Aoriashi. No, this one was completely covered in wax, as though to not only seal the technique away, but to seal the knowledge of the technique away. She read the words along the side again, running her finger along the tiny etchings.

Shishi no Ryuujin.

The move itself sounded incredibly powerful. Renia had been told about the Lion's Roar Shot, or the Shishi Hokun Dan before, as well as her father's Fierce Dominating Tiger to counter it, but they couldn't hold a candlestick to even the name of this one move. Roar of the Dragon God.

It took almost an hour to cut through the seal at the right point to be able to uncurl the parchment without disturbing most of the wax. That said, of course, meant she couldn't actually open it all the way, but it was enough to read everyone written within. She couldn't quite make out the drawings to accompany it, but the words were clear as day.

Hate. Fear. Abundant ki. Desire to protect. Power of a dragon. Strength to protect.

Alright, so maybe the words were clearly legible, but they didn't make a lot of sense. What did the move do in the first place? She cracked a touch of the wax to peel it open a little further and scanned the picture quickly and carefully. Her blue eyes widened in amazement as she read the details that he own father had written out years earlier when he had sealed the move in the first place.

It wasn't a move to attack someone. It was a move to force someone to attack you... a move to make an enemy ignore all else around them and focus solely on the user of the Dragon God Roar. In her own mind, the move didn't seem that powerful. Certainly not strong enough to warrant such secrecy and wax to keep it hidden.

She rolled the parchment back up the best she could and sealed along the edge again. Inspecting the outside, she was startled to see a few visible cracks along the length - telltale signs that someone had been looking at it.

A knock at the door interrupted her before she had a chance to try and fix it. As fast as she could, she stuffed the scrolls back into the black box and stashed the entire container under her bed again before leaping up to the door to find Maina waiting for her, about to knock again.

"Er... sorry," Renia said with a shrug, looking back to her desk. "Homework got away on me."

"You think you had it rough?" Maina asked with a grin. "At least you can read it!"

"Ya don't seem too bad off, though," Renia pointed out to her friend's cheerful expression.

"Okaasan asked me to tell you that supper's ready. I'm looking forward to another battle-free meal..." Maina said, looking a little wistful at even the thought of such a simple matter. "She even let me help cook!"

"I didn't know you could cook!" Renia pointed out as they made their way downstairs to the large tearoom, only to find everyone else already gathered there.

"I... uh..."

"She can't," Kasumi said with a soft smile as she came in behind the two carrying several large trays of food. "But we managed. And she'll get better - it seems to me that she's not the first to have that type of problem in the kitchen within this household..."

Akane was, oddly enough, staring at the table during that exchange.

By the fact that no one said anything about Maina's previous intentions for coming to their home during supper, she assumed that Ranma must have explained the situation to all of them. Even still, she had expected at least Akiko and Chika to ask about it, but neither seemed all that concerned. As Chika put it, Maina was just another sister under the same roof.

* * *

Fenrish opened her blue eyes slowly to look around the Dojo that evening. It wasn't nearly as empty as she preferred while meditating, but there wasn't an official class going on, so at least no sensei yelling at everyone in sight.

Directly in front of her, both Renia and Maina were sparring with each other. It was rather mild, considering how violent the two had gone at it the day before. This time, it seemed that neither was really trying to win, but simply trying to improve various techniques. While Maina was using her braided hair to a great advantage, Renia was almost constantly trying to throw the smaller girl in an impressive display of speed and strength. It reminded her of an animal... though she couldn't think of which one at the moment.

Beyond the two in front of her were the youngest members of the household. Akiko and Chika weren't fighting with each other, but were in front of practice dummies. Akiko seemed to be working on her punches, looking at her own body rather than the dummy as though trying to fix something about her form. For her part, Chika was working on a high kick, followed by a low sweep. The sweeps were quite difficult against the hard wooden dummies, but the seven year old brunette didn't seem to mind the difficulty.

Each of the sensei were in the room, watching the children as well. Fenrish could sense her husband's aura directly behind her, though she knew he wasn't watching her. In fact, he was watching the other side of the room, where their son was working with Setsumi and Akane. Akane was the only sensei actually teaching at the moment, though she was doing it almost silently at Setsumi's request. Originally, it had only been the two of them, but after a few minutes, Minoru had asked to join them.

Shampoo was just beyond them, watching the three working with swords. She had almost a spaced out look, however, as though she were considering something carefully. Fenrish had long since learned to be wary of such things, given how potent some of the magical potions and smokes could be - and well aware that, given Shampoo's odd moods on occasion, she was a good target to test them on.

"Shampoo has been pushing lately," Mousse said softly from behind her. Fenrish closed her eyes again, willing the calm state given to her by her mediation to continue. She nodded, but didn't reply. She knew what he had meant. Shampoo was finally looking at another man - fifteen years after Ranma was no longer available. Too bad for her that Mousse was already taken!

"Our son seems to be taking quite a liking to the Tofu girl," she offered after a long silence fell between the two again. She knew Mousse was watching everything going on the in Dojo carefully, just like the other sensei, and didn't want to disturb him too much from his work. Besides, she liked the silence, too.

"You've noticed too, have you?" Mousse whispered, sitting next to her and putting a hand on her knee. She eyes snapped open and she looked over to him quickly. "What do you think about it?"

"I think they are both quite young."

"Ranma and Akane first met at sixteen."

"And our son is fourteen." She wasn't entirely sure what the point was to their conversation. It couldn't be called an argument by any stretch of the imagination, but it really wasn't a discussion, either. "But he is able, Muu Tsu." Fenrish saw him smile just a little. Even after so many years, the simple fact that she always insisted on calling him by his real name - at least, when she wasn't using a nickname - instead of the butchered Mousse that everyone else used still brought a smile to his face.

"I do not believe Setsumi returns the feelings, Phen Riche," he replied softly.

"Perhaps not," Fenrish admitted, closing her eyes again and focusing inward. "But he is patient. He is willing to wait, and just be a steady presence, until she decides she is ready. Have you noticed that?"

She could tell Mousse nodded, even though her eyes were closed. "He's not much like his parents, is he?" He had always been chasing after Shampoo in his youth, spouting off his supposed love for her, and Fenrish hadn't exactly been subtle once it was clear that Mousse was ready to move on from Shampoo. The fact that they were married within six months of meeting attested to that fact.

"I didn't chase you," Fenrish objected with a grin. "I was real to you. I let you make the first move," she pointed out.

"And then you made all the rest at once," Mousse added. "I know. He'll be alright, so long as he keeps that patience long enough, but not too long."

Fenrish finally opened her eyes again and took a deep breath, standing with a flourish. She then bowed slightly to Mousse. "What would you have me work on tonight, sensei?" She wasn't a Master of the Hidden Weapons yet, even though she could have been called such at any time. She just wasn't ready to take the title of sensei... being a student was so much easier on one's nerves, if more demanding on time.

* * *

Renia and Maina have a conversation about some of Japanese culture in this chapter, mainly involving the use of -san and -chan suffixes. Essentially, -san is a term of reverence (sort of like master, but not necessarily that strong) while -chan is more a term of endearment (like you would use with a close friend or a child). Renia-chan, for example, would imply that either a parent was speaking to her, or one of her close friends. A lot more goes into the suffixes in Japan than just that, but it isn't necessary to get into it here. If anyone wants more information, feel free to ask.

Aside from that, when I use -chan outside of dialogue, it is to identify gender (with Ranma). In other words, Ranma is a guy, Ranma-chan is a girl. This is because -chan can also be used in such a manner.

* * *

Ryu-kanjin: Thanks, I'm glad you like both. I'll be updating as often as possible, don't worry.

Neon-Ronin: That's good to hear, thanks. Ukyo's explanation will come later, don't worry, but it won't be a happy tale by any means. I realise that it doesn't really follow how she was pleased (or at least tolerant) before, but there is a reason for it, and it will come to light later. I'll just say this hear - she had a hard run for a while just before and during her pregnancy that made her rethink a couple of things... As for Genma, he does need some sense beaten into him, but a lot of it was at Ukyo's insistance this time. Maina will come to learn what life is really about, but it may take her some time. I did intend for Renia and Maina's friendship to almost mirror Ranma and Akane's, and its good to see that it was noticed. Although it's a little late by now, I'll wish you the same - Merri Kurisumasu.

nonengel: Yeah, Maina had it a little rougher from time to time, that's for sure. The Craddle from Hell showed that he actually had a few good times (even if said good times are now a nightmare to think about...) but Maina seemed to have missed most of those... Ukyo is quite bitter, but why won't come to light for a while, sorry. The talk will be going more in depth in a couple of chapters - when Ranma has no choice but to confront Maina with what he already suspects, but then will know for certain.

a: Good to hear. Maina and Renia/Ranma and Ryoga? Yeah, I guess there is a bit of that there. There's also some mirroring of Ranma and Akane, too, incidentally. As to those in the dojo knowing who her real sensei is... most of them are taking ques from Ranma. He's not saying anything about it, so they assume he doesn't want it mentioned, or wants to prove it first. Unfortunately for all involved, it's proven next chapter...

Akane does realise that it isn't Maina's fault, but as you said, she still has a bit of a temper - just like Ranma has the ability to stuff both his feet in his mouth at once and have room left over. More of that to come, too, btw.

I understand what you are saying about ki and chi, too. My understanding might be a little different, I guess - like I said, I thought that ki was the Japanese term for life energy, be it from within or without, while chi was the Chinese term for the same thing. It doesn't really matter in the end, I guess, given that most of that was simply to point out that ki can also mean something else in Japanese.

Doctor Emmit Brown: Glad to hear it. I know her reasoning is a little weak (as were Ukyo's), but having it driven into her head for years can do that to a person. Hopefully when the full story comes to light, she can let go of some of that... and hopefully Ukyo can too.

And you weren't the only one to be glad I wasn't banned entirely. The week away was enough for me, really! I'm toning things down a little in the future of this fic because of it, but the full thing should be at mediaminer eventually.

kayemsi: The two main kids reflecting their major influences... I'm glad that was noticed. Thanks. As for Ranma not noticing (or figuring it out), well, let's just say he's chosing to keep quiet for now. He wants either to have proof placed in front of him, or to have Maina admit to it, rather than demanding it from her. This is mostly because of the way he was treated when he first arrived at the Tendos so long ago - he wants to give her a home first, before anything else.  
And it should be interesting when Maina learns the full, accurate story. And when the other kids hear about the full events, too. That won't be for a few chapters, though - first, Maina's story comes out, and then after Ryoga comes (with one of his sons), Chika has to make a confession - though it has nothing to do with Ryoga, but rather his son, who remembers her from a chance encounter from a couple of years ago...  
As to how they got rid of Ukyo, you won't find the answers in the prequel - in that, she seemed to be rather happy and glad that Ranma and Akane had found each other, if a little upset. Nothing like she is now. So the question is... what happened?

Wonderbee31: Yeah, Maina didn't exactly have it easy, did she? There will be a confrontation, but not exactly the type that you might expect. You are right, btw, when you saw that Ranma suspects something. Like I said in an earlier reply above, though, he is trying to give her a home first rather than anything else - what he would have wanted. Understanding. He is waiting for her to either tell him, or for the facts to be forced into the open by some other event.Unfortunately for Maina, the even takes place soon.

* * *

Next chapter: Dragon God Unleashed/The Cat Returns - Ryuujin Koihou/Neko Tachimodoru. Maina's sensei is suddenly abundantly clear when an incident at school forces her to go into the forbidden neko-ken. When Renia does the only thing she can think of to make her friend pay any attention to her instead of the crowd of students all trying to subdue her, all hell breaks loose.

* * *

Until the sun sets upon a broken world...  
**The Shadows**


	6. Ryuujin KoihouNeko Tachimodoru

Chapter Five: Dragon God Unleashed/The Cat Returns

Ryuujin Koihou/Neko Tachimodoru means the same as the chapter title.

* * *

Fenrish woke the next morning the same way she usually did - wrapped in Mousse's strong arms and smelling the alluring aroma of breakfast. It was a routine to wake up, but one she didn't mind.

Slowly, she disengaged herself from her still sleeping husband and sat on the floor at the base of their futon carefully, crossing her legs and closing her eyes as she did so. The cool morning air felt good on her bare body, and helped her reach within herself to search through the streams of auras around her.

Today was different, somehow. Something big was coming, sooner than she had anticipated. Despite the rush of emotions that were brought about by such a discovery, she kept her eyes closed and concentrated on slowing her breath again before finally getting up to get dressed.

Once she had on her simple full length blue kimono, she stepped out into the hall and slid the door closed again, letting her husband sleep in. The house was still quiet, but she knew without a doubt that she wasn't the first one up.

"Morning, Fenrish-san," Renia called to her as she stepped onto the landing at the bottom of the stairs and turned towards the tearoom. "Sleep well?"

"As well as could be expected," Fenrish replied with a smile. The children were all gathered in the tearoom already - including Maina, who appeared to have joined in the morning workout as well. There was no sign of Ranma or Akane sparing outside this morning, though.

"Ki training, as I understand it," Kasumi said gently as she came into the tearoom behind the elder student and half-trained Shinto priestess. "They asked me earlier to make sure that no one disturbs them. They are in the Dojo now."

"Not like we could interrupt them if we wanted to," Fenrish replied easily. It was true, too. However they trained their ki was so powerful that it sealed the Dojo up more securely than anyone could comprehend. She had a good idea as to some of the activities that the two leaders of the Anything Goes School were undertaking, but had never voiced her opinions. "How is everyone this morning?"

"Hungry!" Renia replied as Kasumi set the first plate of food down in the middle of the table. Her cry was echoed by her younger sister, as well as Setsumi. Chika, as usual, was relatively quiet this morning, and Minoru said nothing at all as he waited for the others to serve themselves.

Maina seemed lost in herself as Kasumi put a full plate of food in front of her, giving her a clear helping rather than having her fight with the others for a fair share.

"It looks wonderful, Okaasan," Fenrish said, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder as she stood back up. "Don't forget to..."

"Get some for myself," Kasumi finished. "I know, don't worry. Ono is on my case about eating properly too."

"Looking forward to school today?" Fenrish asked as she sat down at the empty part of the table. She didn't need to eat just yet - it never hurt to wait for the other adults to come down anyway. "I understand that you had a bit of trouble yesterday, Maina."

"Kasumi helped me out," Maina said after swallowing her mouthful. "I think I can get some of it today, anyway. And I learned yesterday not to speak out in class, or end up with water duty."

"Oh?" Kasumi asked in surprise. "No one mentioned that... what happened?"

"She volunteered," Minoru said flatly.

"What?"

"Baka!" Renia said, slapping the back of the blue haired boy's head, causing his face to plant into the food. She then looked to Fenrish and Kasumi and shrugged. "I was talkin' in class, and was sent out. She didn't know what that meant, and when the sensei asked if she wanted to join me, she said yeah."

"I don't think I'll be doing that again, though."

The group then fell silent as the kids continued to eat. Renia was the first done, as usual, but she didn't just leap up to leave like she usually did. Instead, she shifted over so she was sitting behind the newcomer and pulled the ribbons out of her hair. Fenrish and Kasumi just watched in surprise as Maina didn't react at all, and Renia went about braiding the incredibly long hair, threading the first ribbon halfway down, and the second at the very bottom to hold the braid firmly in place.

"Thanks, Renia-chan," Maina said softly as she stood up from the table to go gather her things.

"No problem, Maina-chan," Renia replied with a grin, flipping to her feet and racing the other girl up the stairs.

Fenrish and Kasumi exchanged quick glances at that, and Kasumi's normal smile broadened as she stood up to go get more food for the adults who were about to come downstairs as well. Fenrish stood as well, however, and made her way to the main gates.

"Bye, Fenrish-san. Good luck today!" Renia called as she started out in her usual run with Setsumi and Minoru. Maina was a step or two behind them, but caught up quickly enough.

"Take care of yourselves today," Fenrish called after them. "Ki-chan, watch out for changes! You too, Ninku-kun and Karai-chan!" She had to take a step out of the Tendo grounds to continue to be heard. "And Fuki-chan, be careful, and have fun! You're still learning, after all!"

Smiling to herself, Fenrish made her way back inside and joined the others at the tearoom table, sitting close to her husband Mousse and getting ready to actually start her day.

* * *

"I've heard Ki-chan before, but not those others," Maina admitted from behind both Renia and Setsumi on the fence today. "I can guess that Minoru is Ninku-kun, right?"

"He is, isn't he?" Renia called back. "Never seems ta raise his voice or get mad. Doesn't laugh neither, though."

Setsumi, on the other hand, broke out in giggles. "I've never lived that down, have I?" she asked Renia.

"What?" Maina asked, curious about the exchange.

"Karai-chan," Minoru said from beneath them, drawing Maina's gaze, though Renia and Setsumi didn't look down at all. "When she really gets going inside, she can make quite the mess without even trying. And she's got more energy than anyone else I know... though it really only comes out when she's having fun or training hard."

"Cyclonic storm?" Maina smiled to herself. "I guess that fits."

"What's most surprising is that Fenrish-san called you something as well," he pointed out, this time causing both Renia and Setsumi to come to a sudden halt and turn around. "Didn't you two hear her? Fuki-chan."

"Fuki-chan?" they both repeated, and Renia went on after nodding. "I guess that fits, doesn't it, Maina-chan? You're no longer bound by… your training as much," she finished, though Maina knew what she was getting at.

"Why is it surprising?"

"Fenrish-san has never given a nickname to one not of the family before," Minoru explained calmly. "The fact that she would do so now implies how she feels about your presence... as though you have always belonged with us, and not just having arrived."

Maina couldn't keep the tears from the edge of her eyes at such a thought, but the sound of odd shouts from ahead made her wipe them away quickly. "We're wasting time!" she pointed out, leaping over both Renia and Setsumi to keep running along the fence. "The fight's about to start!"

"Don't worry!" Renia called after her as she started running as well. "It's Friday, which means today they don't fight us. Instead, at lunchtime they try to 'woo us with pleasant things,' " she said with a shudder, "another one of the principal's pathetic ideas."

"Pleasant things?"

"Like flowers and candies," Minoru said, shaking his head. "Like that would ever work coming from a crowd. I'm ashamed for all of them..."

"Sure you are, baka," Renia said with a grin. "You're just sorry you don't have the guts to give anyone anything like that, right?"

"I'm not rising to your stupid challenge, Renia."

"Told ya."

"It didn't work last week, or the week before that, or the week before that. What makes you possibly think it would work this week?" he asked, his voice still level. Maina noticed that he was very carefully not watching any of them this time, though.

"Can't blame a gal for trying, right?" Renia asked, winking to both Maina and Setsumi. "Alright, c'mon. Let's get to class. Gym starts today off, so it'll be good. You'll go great there, Maina-chan, don't worry."

"If you two are on the same team, the other team won't stand a chance," Setsumi pointed out. "Good for it. Crush them!"

"And if they are on opposite teams?" Minoru asked.

"The sport becomes a battle," Setsumi said with a shrug. "So what else is new?"

As luck would have it, Renia and Maina did end up on the same team, and, true to Setsumi's prediction, the other team didn't stand a chance. The sport ended up being baseball, and the game actually set a record - most baseball's lost through home runs in a single class. Fourteen from Maina, and twelve from Renia.

Renia was quick to point out at the end of the class that she had been hit twice when she had been up at bat, meaning she had two of her home runs stolen from her by the poor pitching.

As lunchtime started to get closer, Maina started feeling a little off. Not entirely sure what was wrong, she decided to listen to her best friend and head to the nurse's office to get checked out. She didn't want to admit that anything was wrong with her, as that would imply a weakness, but after she passed out when she stood up, she had been 'convinced.' All she had planned to do after leaving and claiming to go to the nurse was take an early lunch…

It was this way that she found herself waking up to an unfamiliar room with only one familiar face anywhere nearby - and it wasn't Renia, as she had half expected. Instead, it was Minoru. He was talking to the nurse about something, but she couldn't make out what was being said.

Apparently, the nurse noticed her movement, however, as she cut him off and turned towards her. "Feeling better, Kounji?" she asked kindly.

Maina shrugged, checking herself over quickly. Whatever the feeling had been had passed. "Yup, I'm fine. Nothing can keep me down for long!"

"Good," the nurse said with a smile. "Lunch is about to start, so I'll let you go. As near as I could tell, your body has just had a touch of a shock recently - not being used to full meals and a proper sleep before the past couple of days - but that shouldn't be a problem in the future again."

"Thank you," Maina found herself saying, much to her own surprise. Rather than question herself, though, she opened the door and left quickly, just a minute after Minoru had left as well.

As soon as the door had shut, the speaker system turned on. "Could Tofu Setsumi please report to the nurse's office for a questionnaire? Tofu Setsumi, the nurse's office please." Maina knew that the one speaking was the nurse herself, and found herself wondering why Setsumi was being called for such a thing.

Remembering that Minoru had been there just moments earlier gave her a clue, as did the fact that she remembered what was to happen at lunchtime. Pleasant things... she shuddered despite herself. It was as Minoru had said - coming from a crowd, such a thing was disgusting.

Entering the cafeteria, she found herself on the opposite side of the room compared to Renia and a few of the other girls from her class that she still hadn't caught all the names to just yet. In between was the crowd of boys, all of whom were holding something.

"Outta my way," Maina demanded, trying to push passed the first group to get through to join her friend. "C'mon, move!"

"Kounji?"

She turned at the sound of her name being called, but didn't register who had said it at all. She tried to - she tried to focus on anything, in fact, beyond what was being held directly in front of her: the one thing that brought her more horror than anything else. Screams echoed in the back of her mind - her own screams from years past - and then the kitten leapt onto her head and mewed.

It was only a few seconds later that she had bent down to all fours and echoed the kitten, startling the crowd of boys that had surrounded her to try and give her more things.

* * *

"So what was that question thing all about, Setsumi?" Renia asked as the brown haired girl came into the lunch room doors. "Never heard of anythin' like that before."

Setsumi shook her head and looked to the centre of the room, as though trying to gauge how difficult it was going to be to get some food. "It was weird, Renia," she said. "The nurse had no idea what I was talking about when I got there. She seemed surprised to see me, actually."

"She was busy with Maina, so that could have distracted her, right?" Minoru pointed out. "Maybe she didn't catch what you were asking about."

"No," Setsumi said, shaking her head at the blue haired boy. "No, that wasn't it. Maina wasn't even there - she had left a few minutes earlier." She then paused and looked back to him. "How did you know she was at the nurse, though?"

Minoru looked startled to be called out like that, but before he had a chance to reply, a shout of terror interrupted him, and as one the three turned to the centre of the room again. They were just in time to see six boys being flung into the air, and a group trying in vain to run. Pandemonium erupted moments later when Maina leapt onto a table and landed on all four, meowing loudly before attacking another group of boys that seemed to be trying to subdue her.

"What is she doing?" Minoru demanded, taking a step towards the fray, trying to figure out how to get closer to her to knock some sense into her. "She's acting like an animal."

"I don't know, but we've gotta stop her," Setsumi said. "C'mon."

They both stopped after a couple of steps to turn back to Renia, who hadn't moved a muscle yet. They were surprised to see a look that was a cross between horror and nausea on her face. "What's wrong?"

"The neko-ken," she whispered, her voice lost in the chaos.

"What?"

Minoru's shout seemed to snap her back to her senses, as she pulled at the closest boy who was trying to flee and pulled him to her face. "Get everyone you can to run outside. We have to get her into a clearing, now!"

"Y... yes, Renia-san!" he said, nodding his head, determined not to let her down. He was a beginner at the Dojo - and therefore one of the boys who did not take part in the morning ritual, and one of the few boys that Renia wouldn't pound upon talking to.

"Don't just stand there, bakas!" Renia said fiercely when she turned back to the two. "Get everyone out! I'll handle Maina, or try to!"

"What's going on?"

"It's the neko-ken!" Renia said. "Minoru, you're faster than Setsumi still, right?"

"When I go all out, yeah," he admitted, not looking to the other girl suddenly.

"Ya'd better start goin all out then. We need Ryu-san here, now! Tell him Maina's gone neko, and he'll understand. Get anyone you can to help, too!" Minoru nodded and shot of through a window without saying anything else.

"What about me?" Setsumi asked. "And what is this neko-ken, anyway?"

"I'll explain later," Renia promised. "For now, get people outta here. I've gotta get her attention, to try and calm her down until daddy get here."

"Right."

Renia knew it was odd as she stood to her full height of around five foot two as crowds of people washed past her. It seemed almost like they were parting like a great wave at her mere presence, which sent little currents through her body in the thrill of it. They were counting on her, and she wasn't about to let them down.

"Alright, the neko-ken," she muttered to herself as she started to walk forward, spotting the neko-Maina batting an Upperclassman around by a basketball net. "Complete loss of control, berserk in the face of danger... what else?" she thought, trying to remember what she had read. She had put the scroll aside awfully quickly, deciding that she wasn't going to be learning it ever. "Right, trust. She's gotta find someone she trusts and feels safe around."

"The beauteous flower has indeed turned tigress upon us," a voice said from behind her suddenly, making her groan. "Surely it is due to her lack of visual contact with me upon arrival. Fear not, students, I will rectify this situation at once!"

Renia knew better... she really did. But she couldn't help herself, she had to step to the side to let their idiotic principal walk past in his attempt to calm Maina down. "Nabiki always said Kuno was a bit of an idiot," Renia sighed as she started forward again. The principal hadn't lasted four seconds - his bokken lie shredded on the ground and he was stuck in the wall from a particularly fierce batting from Maina's ki claws.

She had made it within ten feet of the neko-Maina before things had gone from bad to worse. One of the boys who often seemed to lead the morning attacks had approached her with a basket of flowers in an attempt to pacify her. Renia had to admit - to herself only, of course - that if she didn't know what was going on, she might have tried a similar tactic, using something more worthwhile, of course.

The result of his tactics, however, was a bushel of petals shooting through the air, and a suddenly very scared girl who was acting like a cat. Maina shot out the window into the main courtyard, where all the other students had already fled.

"Kuso!"

Taking off in a run that would surely have made her father proud, Renia darted out of the cafeteria and onto the green lawn through the emergency exit. The crowd was shouting again, and she spotted Setsumi nearby, waving violently at her.

"No luck so far?"

"Does it look like it? I can't get her to notice me!" Renia said, exasperated. "I've just got to force her to pay attention to me and no one else!"

"I don't think that's gonna happen, unless you've got some magic bag of tricks that you haven't been telling me about," Setsumi replied, shaking her head and looking back. The crowd seemed to have formed a large circle around neko-Maina, and she was randomly attacking students who got a little too close for her comfort level. "She's gonna keep going until everyone's gone or she collapses in exhaustion. I'm betting the first."

"Bag of tricks?" Renia repeated. "That's it!"

"What?"

"I've gotta concentrate, Setsumi," Renia said, closing her eyes. "You've gotta keep people from bugging me, I've never tried this before. I didn't think I ever would, either..."

"What are you doing?"

"Just keep people away."

_Hatred._ _Right, well, I hate that this is happening to Maina-chan,_ Renia thought to herself. _And I hate what everyone's going to say about this tomorrow... if only Nabiki were here! She'd calm everyone down in a heartbeat!_ She felt something pulse through her as she kept her focus clear, and half smiled to herself.

_What's next? Fear..._ she thought. _They could really hurt her. Maina's in trouble, more than I've ever thought of before. If someone gets a lucky attack in while her back's turned, she done for - the crowd'll tear her to pieces after what she's done to them._

A rush of energy surrounded her suddenly, forcing Setsumi and several other students backwards. The cool blue aura flared to life around her, and then sparked to a violent red, shooting up around her in a giant ring that kept everyone else away from her.

"I am the daughter of Saotome Ranma, great Dragon Gods. Lend me the power that I know you possess," she said softly through the energy that was gathered. She had never even thought of gathering her ki like this before, and the feeling scared her half to death. This could hurt dozens of people already, and was really going to hurt her if she screwed it up - it could be bad even if she did it right, really. So much energy... "You would not have allowed such a move before if you didn't understand why it was needed... please, let me protect my friend."

The violent ring that looked like flames flickered for a moment, and then died down to nothing. With a roar of frustration, Renia flexed her arms at her side and thought harder, trying with all of her being to call upon the tactic that she had stolen a look at only yesterday - was it only yesterday? It seemed that so much had changed since then...

Blue and white mist swirled to life around her without any warning as she looked back to the crowd and saw them closing in on the tiring neko-Maina. She couldn't keep going for long, that was for sure. There was a good deal of students of the Dojo trying to help stop her from hurting people, and they were putting up more of a fight than she had thought possible.

"Shishi no Ryuujin!" From the mists burst the incredible form of a magnificent dragon. It snaked around in the air several times above her before shooting down to ensnare her in an instant. Several of those watching screamed and fell backwards, trying to avoid the ethereal beast.

As quickly as it had surrounded her, it shot forward through the crowd knocking them aside as if they were made of paper or glass - though thankfully they weren't as breakable. The dragon opened its mouth as though to roar, but no sound came out as it surrounded Maina, encircling her quickly as it had Renia moments earlier.

It had appeared in an instant, and the dragon vanished in kind with a puff of white and blue mist. An eerie silence fell over the crowd as no one dared to breathe for a moment, wondering both about what had just happened and what had been happening earlier.

The neko-Maina then mewed softly and padded her way over to Renia on all fours, looking every part a cat if not for her human body. In a single bound, she had knocked the eldest Saotome child down and was curling up in her lap, much to Renia's surprise and embarrassment.

"Renia-chan?"

Renia looked down to Maina again as she felt the girl stirring suddenly in the silence, and smiled despite her discomfort as she looked up at her. "It's alright, Maina-chan. The neko-ken's over now."

"Thanks," she whispered, sighing for a moment before bolting upright and out of Renia's lap in an instant, looking around in dismay at the large crowd that had been watching them, not sure what to say.

She was saved having to say anything by the sudden appearance of Ranma Saotome. No one could really say how he had arrived, but the fact that Akane landed on the ground next to him from above, and Shampoo moments later carrying Nabiki suggested that he had come by the rooftops.

The rest of the afternoon was a complete blur to Renia. Her father stayed at the school for a while with Shampoo and Nabiki, explaining what had happened to the crowds while minimizing the damage that the truth could actually cause. In the meantime, Akane had ushered Minoru - who had come behind the four adults - Setsumi, Maina, and herself back to the Tendo residence in silence.

By the hard, cold look in her mother's eye, she knew that she was in trouble.

Kasumi had met them at the main gates and taken Maina right away to see her husband. Dr. Tofu had looked her over carefully behind closed doors, and when he had emerged, declared her to be tired, but otherwise in good health still. Nodoka had said something about the stupidity of pandas before Renia had been taken by the arm to her room by her mother.

Akane said nothing as she looked at her eldest daughter for a moment, and then turned and closed the door behind her. Idly, Renia wondered where Akiko was, but figured that she and Chika were probably in the Dojo, if not still in school. She had no idea what time it really way.

"I want an explanation."

Renia turned in surprise to find her father standing by the open window in her room suddenly. She knew it had been closed moments earlier, and was surprised, and a little disappointed in herself, that she hadn't heard it open.

"Now."

Apparently she was taking too long to answer. She knew that she had never seen her father so upset before in all her life - even after the time she and Setsumi had snuck into the kitchen to eat his birthday cake a day early (they were six and four at the time). "I just..."

"Just what, Renia?"

"I just wanted to know the history of our School!" Renia blurted out, closing her eyes against the tirade she knew was to follow her words. "No one told us anything, and I wanted to know what had happened before! After learning about the Umisen, I knew that there were sealed techniques, and I wanted to know about them! Please don't..."

Ranma cut her off by walked towards her. "So you thought you had to sneak into your mother's and my room and steal the School's Scrolls?" he shouted. "And then you went ahead and used a sealed technique in front of hundreds of people this afternoon? Don't you even know what _sealed_ means?"

"It was all I could come up with!" Renia shouted back, trying to defend herself. Her parents had never yelled at her before, and she fought off the tears that were threatening to come already. "I had to get her to pay attention to me, no one else! I didn't want anyone to hurt Maina-chan!"

"So you'd rather betray your family honour than let a friend come to harm?" Ranma asked in a quiet voice. He didn't give her a chance to reply before making his way to the door, so she wasn't entirely sure how he had hoped she would have answered. "Starting tomorrow, you are to report to Sensei Muu Tsu for special training. This will continue everyday until such time as he deems it fit to stop, do I make myself clear, Renia?"

"Hai, Ryu-sensei."

"No," Ranma said, startling her. "My name is Ranma. You are to call me either Ranma-sensei or just Sensei until further notice. Am I clear?"

"Hai... Sensei."

He paused as he started to close the door. "I'm sorry, Renia-chan."

When the door closed entirely, Renia broke down into tears on her bed.

* * *

Shishi no Ryuujin: Roar of the Dragon God. Ranma's battle ki charged to such a degree that it forces the enemy to turn towards him. It was used to force Harito's Devil form to leave Akane alone and focus on him. The ki is so powerful that anyone not intended for the battle will be unable to get anywhere close to fighting, and it is this last aspect which draws it into Renia's mind when she uses it to get neko-Maina's attention.

* * *

I'd like to cover a topic that I suspect I may receive a couple of flames about very shortly - though I'd be happier if I didn't, rest assured. As my beta (SilverBullet23) pointed out, Ranma seems rather out of character at this stage in the story, given how he had behaved in Shadows are Stirring. I know that.

... I'm sure most of you are now asking what I'm thinking, if I know he's ooc. No one writes purposefully ooc, right? (In case you don't know the answer, I'll say this much - the best fanfiction authors at least take such things into account first). Everything depends on circumstance and interpretation. In this case, for Ranma to be so overbearing/overprotective of Renia and the scrolls, one has to ask the big question of why. Which I'm sure, if you weren't doing before, you now are. So why? Well, there was a certain incident in the past... an incident that I haven't covered just yet. The children of the story are not aware of it at all - given that it happened before Renia turned one, while Minoru was still in Fenrish's womb, and while Setsumi was still just a twinkle in her parents' eyes, that makes sense. Just trust in the fact that, when it does come to light, his behaviour will make more sense, as will Akane's behaviour towards their eldest child in the next chapter.

And you'll probably understand just why they never discuss the past with any of the kids, and never bring it up. When this story comes to light, that era will end, and everything will change for the kids. They will also better understand their parents - and know that when Ranma challenges/threatens something, he means business without fail.

Also, if any of you out there are parents (or siblings to significantly younger/weaker brothers/sisters), you'll understand that such roles usually instill a sense of overprotectiveness in a lot of people anyway…

Oh, and special thanks to said beta (**SilverBullet23**) for his help with this chapter.

--------------------------------------

JakeTheSheepy: Glad to hear I lived up to expectations. I try to, anyway. It won't be as slow paced later on, trust me on that, though it may take a while longer than you might think for Ukyo and Genma to return. There's something else that they get to deal with first that is much more important – a look at the past, during Renia's first year of life mainly, but also finding out a bit about Chika and thwarting an engagement proposal…

nonengel: Yeah, Furikan is a bit troublesome right now, it's it. That will change later, too. I'm glad you like how things are going… and I know I don't often end quietly. Sorry about that.

Neon-Ronin: My understanding with the Umisen scrolls were that they weren't cut up – just folded to make the envelopes. That's why Ranma could learn the secrets of the technique – he could still read them, and later when he had the time, I figured he would have written it out, even if he was only sealing it again. Thanks for pointing that out though – it would come as no surprise that I missed something by mistake, after all. I'll do what I can to keep things coming properly… good luck with your own writing. I'll be by there later to leave a few reviews… I think I'm running behind overall with such things…

Wonderbee31: Yeah, things are going to get interesting quickly, don't worry there. And you've hit the nail dead on the hea, too – Maina is lonely, and Renia feels for her. She's lonely too, just in a different sense. As for the chapter, I know a lot of stuff happened that might not work together just yet… but it'll all make sense later.

Doctor Emmit Brown: Yeah, yeah he does… as you can see now. And more of that will come later, too, unfortunately for Renia. I'm glad I've caught your interest with the previews through responses (I hoped to catch a few people that way), but a comment you made in an earlier chapter (about liking the original characters) comes back to me suddenly, and I thought Id leave a bit of a preview here, too. There's a bit of a flashback coming up… one that will be focusing almost entirely on Ranma/Akane as they struggle to save the most important thing in their lives. Cryptic enough? Well, the full tale comes to light shortly, don't worry. Thanks for your feedback – as always, it means a lot.

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Until the sun sets upon a broken world…  
**The Shadows**


End file.
